Gianluca GRENCI
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore
Facility Manager, Nano and Microfabrication Core
mbigg@nus.edu.sg
Level 10 T-Lab
National University of Singapore
5A Engineering Drive 1
Singapore 117411
How does force generation within lamellipodia facilitate cell translocation?
How does force generation within lamellipodia facilitate cell translocation? Interactions between actin filament networks and the focal adhesions to which they are linked results in the generation of forces. These forces may be exerted [...]
What mechanisms drive retraction of the trailing edge?
What mechanisms drive retraction of the trailing edge? Protrusion at the front and retraction at the rear are key force-generating processes at the cell periphery that culminate in the translocation of the cell. For [...]
What are invadopodia?
What are invadopodia? Invadopodia are actin-rich structures that are present at the basal surfaces of cells that are capable of crossing extracellular barriers, such as cancer cells. The primary function of invadopodia appears to [...]
What are the functions of podosomes?
What are the functions of podosomes? Both focal adhesions and podosomes are intimately involved in cell motility, with podosomes specifically implicated in cell invasion. Invasiveness is achieved through the secretion of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) [...]
What are podosomes?
What are podosomes? Podosomes are actin-rich, adhesive structures that are present at the ventral surface of cells of the monocytic myeloid lineage, stimulated endothelial cells [1] and cultured Src-transformed cancer cells. These structures are [...]
What are the first steps in invadopodia assembly and disassembly?
What is the first step in invadopodia assembly? Initiation of invadopdia formation is highly complex, being influenced by various signalling cascades and phosphorylation events that occur following detection of a stimulant. For example, activation [...]
Gianluca Grenci
Research Assistant Professor, Facility Manager
Research Interests
Microfluidics, Micro-optical systems for live cell imaging
Our laboratory is primarily interested in the application of micro/nano fabrication technology to biological science. We exploit standard and advanced micro-fabrication tools in order to design and produce systems and devices for cell culturing and imaging. Examples of such devices are: topographically and/or chemically micro-textured environments, microfluidic devices, micro-optical systems and more.
We are also interested in developing microfluidic devices for FTIR spectromicroscopy of living cells. FTIR is an imaging technique that is intrinsically label-free and requires minimal sample preparation; when coupled with microscopy and high brilliance IR sources it allows the acquisition of chemical maps at a resolution which is diffraction limited. Absorption of IR photons induces very low or no damage at all, therefore it is in principle possible to observe for prolonged time the behaviour of living cells. Our research activity is intended to develope microfludic platforms suitable for FTIR (key parameters are optical transparency and low IR absorption) while keeping cells alive and healthy; a beneficial feature provided by micro-fabrication approach is the possibility to control of the chemical environment at the micro-scale.
Research Areas
Micro/nano engineering, microfluidic, FTIR
Biography
Dr Gianluca Grenci joined MBI in 2012 as a research fellow and head of the Micro Fabrication Core facility. Previously he was employed at the LILIT micro/nano fabrication group (IOM-CNR, Trieste, IT) for a total of 6 years, during which he was mainly involved in the design and fabrication of microfluidic devices for synchrotron-light related spectroscopic techniques, such as SAXS and FTIR. He thus developed extensive practical knowledge on all the major lithographic technologies (UV and EB lithography, wet/dry etching, soft-lithography, thin films deposition), plus some less usual and/or more advanced technique, such as X-ray Lithography and LIGA.
He did his PhD in the field of applied superconductivity, in a project aimed to develop a current cryo-comparator (CCC) using high critical temperature superconductors of the cuprate family (YBCO) in the form of a thick film deposited onto a large area, complex shaped silver substrate.
Education
PhD Polytechnic of Torino, DISPEA
Recent Publications
- Zhang Z, Canela A, Kurisu J, Zou P, Kawaue T, Nakazawa N, Takeda N, Saeki M, Utsunomiya M, Bilgic M, Ishidate F, Grenci G, Furuta T, Kishi Y, Sasanuma H, and Kengaku M. Confined migration induces non-lethal DNA damage in developing neurons. Nature 2026;. [PMID: 42310452]
- Gandin A, Torresan V, Panciera T, Grenci G, Vanni G, Citron A, Marchionni M, Battilana G, Pelosin M, Busetto R, Piccolo S, and Brusatin G. Flexible high-resolution ECM micropatterning. Nat Protoc 2026;. [PMID: 42129485]
- Dunsing-Eichenauer V, Hummert J, Chardès C, Schönau T, Guignard L, Galland R, Grenci G, Tillmann M, Koberling F, Nock C, Sibarita J, Viasnoff V, Antolovic IM, Erdmann R, and Lenne P. Fast volumetric fluorescence lifetime imaging of multicellular systems using single-objective light-sheet microscopy. Commun Biol 2025;. [PMID: 41315677]
- Jiang X, Xu P, Feng F, Grenci G, and Saw TB. Revealing Electromechanical Control of Tissue Homeostasis Using a Two-Layer Microfluidic Device. J Vis Exp 2025;(223). [PMID: 41052031]
- Cabillic M, Forriere H, Bettarel L, Butler C, Neuhaus A, Idrissi I, Sambrano-Lopez ME, Rossbroich J, Müller L, Ries J, Grenci G, Viasnoff V, Levet F, Sibarita J, and Galland R. In-depth single molecule localization microscopy using adaptive optics and single objective light-sheet microscopy. Nat Commun 2025; 16(1):8362. [PMID: 40993142]
- Mu B, Rutkowski DM, Grenci G, Vavylonis D, and Zhang D. Ca2+-dependent vesicular and non-vesicular lipid transfer controls hypoosmotic plasma membrane expansion. BMC Biol 2025; 23(1):207. [PMID: 40629316]
- Ong HT, Karatas E, Poquillon T, Grenci G, Furlan A, Dilasser F, Mohamad Raffi SB, Blanc D, Drimaracci E, Mikec D, Galisot G, Johnson BA, Liu AZ, Thiel C, Ullrich O, , Racine V, and Beghin A. Digitalized organoids: integrated pipeline for high-speed 3D analysis of organoid structures using multilevel segmentation and cellular topology. Nat Methods 2025;. [PMID: 40369245]
- Arora A, Rizvi MS, Grenci G, Dilasser F, Fu C, Ganguly M, Vaishnavi S, Paramsivam K, Budnar S, Noordstra I, Yap AS, and Viasnoff V. Viscous dissipation in the rupture of cell-cell contacts. Nat Mater 2025;. [PMID: 40355570]
- Nakazawa N, Grenci G, Kameo Y, Takeda N, Sawada T, Kurisu J, Zhang Z, Toma K, Adachi T, Nonomura K, and Kengaku M. PIEZO1-dependent mode switch of neuronal migration in heterogeneous microenvironments in the developing brain. Cell Rep 2025; 44(3):115405. [PMID: 40053456]
- Suryana M, Produit T, Yang H, Birarda G, Shanmugar JV, Krivitsky L, Paterova A, and Grenci G. Infrared imaging with visible light in microfluidic devices: the water absorption barrier. Analyst 2024;. [PMID: 39692693]
Selected Publications
- Mona Suryana, Jegan V. Shanmugarajah, Sivakumar M. Maniam, Gianluca Grenci. Soft Lithographic Procedure for Producing Plastic Microfluidic Devices with View-ports Transparent to Visible and Infrared Light
- Mohammed Ashraf, Sree V. Sundararajan, Gianluca Grenci. Low-power, low-pressure reactive-ion etching process for silicon etching with vertical and smooth walls for mechanobiology application
Lab Members
Avery Rui Sun
PhD Student, Biomedical Engineering Dept, Young Group
Vinod S/O Prabhakaran
Research Assistant, Young Group, Chan Group
MBI welcomes August 2021 intake of new graduate students
MBI is thrilled to welcome the latest intake of 13 incoming graduate students this August. Their induction marks the 1st batch of graduate students that MBI is accepting in the 2021/2022 academic year.
Lu Jung Hsuan
Research Assistant, Yan Jie Group
Lim Yong Ann Ben
Research Assistant, Han Group
Jennifer Marlena
Research Assistant, Young Group
Seah Kwi Shan
Research Fellow, Li Group
Ng Pei Ying
Research Fellow, Holle Group
Welcome aboard, Boon Heng!
The Chan Lab welcomes Boon Heng, the first PhD student to the lab. Looking forward to exciting times ahead!
Farewell to Nicole, our first summer intern in the Lab!
Congrats to Nicole for winning the best video presentation in the MBI MUST program. We are lucky to have you! Thank you for bringing so much energy and joy to the lab. Hope to see you soon!
2021 Cell & Tissue Hydraulics: Virtual interactive symposium
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN. The Cell & Tissue Hydraulics Mini-Symposium will present three days of pre-recorded lectures, live talks from invited speakers and pre-recorded short talks and poster presentations.
Spotlight on MBI Prof Low Boon Chuan: Unravelling the chemistry of life
A recent NUS News article features Assoc Prof Low, who leads a dynamic team at MBI focusing on how cells signal – the way they communicate with one another and within themselves.
Former Lab Members
Avery Rui Sun
PhD Student, Biomedical Engineering Dept, Young Group
Vinod S/O Prabhakaran
Research Assistant, Young Group, Chan Group
MBI welcomes August 2021 intake of new graduate students
MBI is thrilled to welcome the latest intake of 13 incoming graduate students this August. Their induction marks the 1st batch of graduate students that MBI is accepting in the 2021/2022 academic year.
Lu Jung Hsuan
Research Assistant, Yan Jie Group
Lim Yong Ann Ben
Research Assistant, Han Group
Jennifer Marlena
Research Assistant, Young Group
Seah Kwi Shan
Research Fellow, Li Group
Ng Pei Ying
Research Fellow, Holle Group
Welcome aboard, Boon Heng!
The Chan Lab welcomes Boon Heng, the first PhD student to the lab. Looking forward to exciting times ahead!
Farewell to Nicole, our first summer intern in the Lab!
Congrats to Nicole for winning the best video presentation in the MBI MUST program. We are lucky to have you! Thank you for bringing so much energy and joy to the lab. Hope to see you soon!
2021 Cell & Tissue Hydraulics: Virtual interactive symposium
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN. The Cell & Tissue Hydraulics Mini-Symposium will present three days of pre-recorded lectures, live talks from invited speakers and pre-recorded short talks and poster presentations.
Spotlight on MBI Prof Low Boon Chuan: Unravelling the chemistry of life
A recent NUS News article features Assoc Prof Low, who leads a dynamic team at MBI focusing on how cells signal – the way they communicate with one another and within themselves.
