Michael SHEETZ
Founding Director and Collaborator, Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore
Affiliations
Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UTMB Health
Brandon Goh Yeow Wee
Research Fellow, Seetharaman Group
Hana Maldivita Tambrin
Research Fellow, Seetharaman Group
Congratulations to Boon Heng for successfully defending his thesis!
Our heartfelt congratulations to Boon Heng!
Kevin Heinrich Kaub
Research Fellow, Michelot Group
Fang Zhou
Research Fellow, Holle Group
Michael Sheetz
Collaborator
Research Areas
Cell migration, cell-cell and cell-substrate interaction
Research Interests
The morphology of cells, organs and whole organisms is determined by the generation of forces on the immediate environment, which is either extracellular matrix or adjacent cells. We are currently engaged in studies to understand the detailed molecular mechanisms involved in a variety of phenomena from cancer metastasis to brain function. Further, we are developing several new tools and protocols for measuring cell forces at the molecular level, which are revealing many new aspects of how cells can both generate and respond to external forces. We have an effort underway to define quantitatively the steps involved in cell adhesion to and spreading on a matrix-coated surface. Using a variety of cell lines that are missing proteins in various motility pathways, we are determining the quantitative changes in the spreading process. This will enable us to generate a detailed model of the process of spreading that will be a model for further studies of how cells differentiate, regenerate tissues or metastasize.
Biography
Hailing from Columbia University, Prof Michael Sheetz has more than 40 years’ experience in the biomedical field. Introduced to Singapore by Prof Hew Choy Leong of the National University of Singapore’s Department of Biological Sciences, Prof Sheetz was sought to lead an RCE project. This resulted in a two-year effort to organise and submit a proposal on Mechanobiology where Prof Sheetz set the theme and direction of the Mechanobiology Institute (MBI). As Founding Director of the MBI, he led the institute for 10 years and built it into a world-leading research centre in the field of mechanobiology.
Education
PhD California Institute of Technology
Recent Publications
- Jain K, Kishan K, Minhaj RF, Kanchanawong P, Sheetz MP, and Changede R. Immobile Integrin Signaling Transit and Relay Nodes Organize Mechanosignaling through Force-Dependent Phosphorylation in Focal Adhesions. ACS Nano 2025;. [PMID: 39760672]
- Lin S, Changede R, Farrugia AJ, Bershadsky AD, Sheetz MP, Prost J, and Rupprecht J. Membrane Tilt Drives Phase Separation of Adhesion Receptors. Phys Rev Lett 2024; 132(18):188402. [PMID: 38759206]
- Jain K, Minhaj RF, Kanchanawong P, Sheetz MP, and Changede R. Nano-clusters of ligand-activated integrins organize immobile, signalling active, nano-clusters of phosphorylated FAK required for mechanosignaling in focal adhesions. bioRxiv 2024;. [PMID: 38464288]
- Jain K, Pandey A, Wang H, Chung T, Nemati A, Kanchanawong P, Sheetz MP, Cai H, and Changede R. TiO2 Nano-Biopatterning Reveals Optimal Ligand Presentation for Cell-Matrix Adhesion Formation. Adv Mater 2024;:e2309284. [PMID: 38340044]
- Jain K, Lim KYE, Sheetz MP, Kanchanawong P, and Changede R. Intrinsic self-organization of integrin nanoclusters within focal adhesions is required for cellular mechanotransduction. bioRxiv 2023;. [PMID: 38045378]
- Oh D, Liu X, Sheetz MP, and Kenney LJ. Small, Dynamic Clusters of Tir-Intimin Seed Actin Polymerization. Small 2023;:e2302580. [PMID: 37649226]
- Qin R, Melamed S, Yang B, Saxena M, Sheetz MP, and Wolfenson H. Tumor Suppressor DAPK1 Catalyzes Adhesion Assembly on Rigid but Anoikis on Soft Matrices. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:959521. [PMID: 35927990]
- Jain K, Kanchanawong P, Sheetz MP, Zhou X, Cai H, and Changede R. Ligand functionalization of titanium nanopattern enables the analysis of cell-ligand interactions by super-resolution microscopy. Nat Protoc 2022;. [PMID: 35896742]
- Toh PJY, Lai JKH, Hermann A, Destaing O, Sheetz MP, Sudol M, and Saunders TE. Optogenetic control of YAP cellular localisation and function. EMBO Rep 2022;:e54401. [PMID: 35876586]
- Oh D, Chen Z, Biswas KH, Bai F, Ong HT, Sheetz MP, and Groves JT. Competition for shared downstream signaling molecules establishes indirect negative feedback between EGFR and EphA2. Biophys J 2022;. [PMID: 35430415]
Lab Members
Thanks to Christiani Amorim at UC Louvain, for the kind invitation
Looking forward to new collaborations in the future!
Congratulations to Wee Juin Shin for being selected to present his work at the Amgen Scholars Asia Symposium!
Our Amgen scholar, Wee Juin Shin, has been selected to present his work on ‘the Influence of substrate curvature on theca cell nematic flow’, at the Amgen Scholar Asia Symposium in Kyoto!
Geetika Chouhan
Research Fellow, Dye Group
Seeking Research Assistant for project with MBI Fellow Dr. Tee Yee Han at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS
The Mechanobiology Institute, NUS seeks to recruit a Research Assistant to work with MBI Fellow Dr. Tee Yee Han.
Seeking Research Fellow in the group of Prof. Alexander Bershadsky at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS
The Mechanobiology Institute, NUS seeks to recruit a Research Fellow in the group of Prof. Alexander Bershadsky at the MBI, NUS.
Vaishnavi Rangaraj
Research Assistant, Holle Group
Liu Haoqiu
Research Fellow, Michelot Group
Seeking Postdoctoral Research Fellow for collaborative project between Dr. Yin Loon Lee and Prof. Alexander Bershadsky at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS
The Mechanobiology Institute, NUS seeks to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Fellow for a collaborative project between Dr. Yin Loon Lee (A*STAR) and Prof. Alexander Bershadsky.
Seeking Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the group of Asst. Prof. Jennifer Young at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS
The Mechanobiology Institute, NUS seeks to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to Asst. Prof. Jennifer Young's lab.
Super excited about the arrival of our optical coherence microscopy! Stay tuned for exciting data in the near future…
A huge thanks to Ling Wang from the Prevedel lab (EMBL Heidelberg) for helping us to set up this device!
Seeking Research Fellow in the Confinement Mechanobiology group at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS
We are seeking to fill a Research Fellow (Postdoctoral Fellow) position in nanobiotechnology.
Biomaterial shows how ageing in the heart could be reversed
A new lab-grown material has revealed that some of the effects of ageing in the heart may be slowed and even reversed. The discovery could open the door to therapies that rejuvenate the heart by changing its cellular environment, rather than focusing on the heart cells themselves.Learn more
