Michael SHEETZ
Founding Director and Collaborator, Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore
Affiliations
Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UTMB Health
What are actin pedestals?
What are actin pedestals? Actin pedestals are raised actin structures formed by the dynamic polymerization of host actin, induced by effector proteins secreted by extracellular pathogens like Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia [...]
What is cell polarity?
What is cell polarity? Cell polarity refers to the intrinsic asymmetry observed in cells, either in their shape, structure, or organization of cellular components. Most epithelial cells, migrating cells and developing cells require some [...]
How is dorsal closure controlled by mechanics?
How is dorsal closure controlled by mechanics? A number of studies, which describe the cellular mechanisms and signaling pathways underlying dorsal closure, have pointed towards a mechanical basis for the morphogenetic changes associated with [...]
What is dorsal closure?
What is dorsal closure? The shaping of the embryo during development is driven by large-scale movements of epithelial cell sheets as they bend, spread, and fuse with each other. One such major, well-defined morphogenetic [...]
How does the vascular system form?
How does the vascular system form? What is vasculogenesis? Vasculogenesis refers to the morphogenetic process occurring during the earliest stages of embryonic development by which a de novo vascular system, consisting of the heart [...]
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
Nai Mui Hoon Brenda
Alumni, Research Associate, Lim Group
Supatra Tharinee Marsh
Alumni, Lim Group
Sarvesh Abhay Sukhatme
Alumni, Lim Group
Shreyansh Jain
Alumni, Lim Group, Ladoux Group
Parthiv Kant Chaudhuri
MBI Alumni, Lim Group
Zhang Songjing
Alumni, Koh Group
Weng Ting
Research Associate, Koh Group
Kapish Gupta
Alumni, Yu Group
Ng Chan Way
Alumni, Yu Group
Zhou Yan
Alumni, Yu Group
Ma Yukun
Alumni, Yu Group
Pan Meng
Alumni, Low Group
