Michael SHEETZ
Founding Director and Collaborator, Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore
Affiliations
Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UTMB Health
Tumor-on-a-chip Shows How Microenvironment Architecture Affects Liver Cancer Therapies
Researchers from the Pavesi Group at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS develops in vitro models of liver tumors to study how the presence of vasculature networks affect cancer therapies.
Liu Shutong
Research Assistant, Hirashima Group
Seeking Research Assistant in the Vascular Mechano-medicine Lab of Dr. Shailaja Seetharaman at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS
We are seeking to recruit a Research Assistant in the research group of Dr. Shailaja Seetharaman at the Mechanobiology Institute and Department of Physiology at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS.
MBI-MPG 2025 Conference: A Time and Space of Learning, Honoring and Inspiration
The MBI-MPG Conference 2025: Mechanobiology in Space and Time featured a vibrant scientific programme, communal experiences in Singapore, and moments of remembrance.
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
Joe invited to present at various conferences and research institutes in Japan
Joe was invited to present at the International Symposium on Mechanical control of biological self-organization and the IUPAB Congress 2024 in Kyoto, as well as at WPI-PRIMe in Osaka. It was also a great pleasure to meet up with Katsuhiko Hayashi, an inspiring figure in ovaroids studies!
Push and pull: Joe shares his two cents on current approaches to measuring mechanics in Nature
Great to see developmental mechanics getting highlighted!
Shambhavi Dikshit
Research Fellow, Toyama Group
Nishanth Venugopal Menon
Senior Research Fellow, Lim Group
Prof Rong Li elected President of the American Society for Cell Biology for 2026
MBI Director Professor Rong Li, has been elected by members of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) to serve as President of the Society in 2026. She will serve as President-Elect on the ASCB Executive Committee beginning 1 January 2025, before starting her term as President on 1 January 2026.
Prof Lim Chwee Teck elected Fellow of the Royal Society
MBI Principal Investigator Professor Lim Chwee Teck, Director of the Institute for Health Innovation & Technology at the National University of Singapore (NUS iHealthtech) and NUSS Professor, has been elected to the prestigious Fellowship of the Royal Society
The first research article from the Chan Lab is up on bioRxiv now
Congratulations to Arikta for driving this project!
Congrats to Kim Whye, Boon Heng and Kosei for their accomplishments at the SCBS Annual Conference 2024!
Congratulations to Kim Whye and Boon Heng (below) for presenting their latest research on ovarian follicle development and to Kosei for being awarded the 'Best Poster Prize' at the SCBS Annual Conference 2024.
Seeking Research Assistant in Assoc. Prof. Low Boon Chuan’s Lab at MBI, NUS
We seek to recruit a Research Assistant in Assoc Prof. Low Boon Chuan's Lab at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS.
Joe shares latest work on ovarian mechanobiology at the ACRLE Conference 2024
Joe presents the lab's latest work on murine ovary elasticity at the ACRLE Conference 2024.
Lingyu Sun
Research Fellow, Yu Group
Thanh Phuong Nguyen
Research Fellow, Hirashima Group
