Recent Featured Research
Disrupted Cell-Matrix Interactions Drives Aging and Reveals New Paths for Skin Regeneration
Researchers from the Li Lab discover how α5-integrin–FN interactions preserve dermal integrity, offering new insights for antiaging strategies targeting ECM organization and fibroblast function.
DECIPHERing the Role of Cell-Matrix Interactions in Ageing Heart Health
Researchers from the Soft Nano-Biomaterials Lab at MBI developed a material system to enable precise investigation into how individual ECM properties affect cultured heart cells.
How Dying Cells Signal Growth: Mechanical Forces Drive Targeted Cell Proliferation after Apoptosis
Researchers from the Toyama Lab at MBI reveal how mechanical factors control apoptosis and cell replacement.
Scientists Develop AI-Driven Tool to Map 3D Cellular Landscapes
Researchers from the Beghin Lab at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS combine DeepStar3D algorithm and 3DCellScope interface to develop an experimental tool for real-time interaction with cell data.
The Nano-Heartbuilder: BNIP-2 Influences Mechanosensing in Cardiomyoblast Differentiation
Researchers from the Low Lab at MBI discover a crucial role for the scaffold protein BNIP-2 in orchestrating focal adhesion dynamics during early heart development, offering new insights into heart regeneration strategies.
Shedding Light on Local Microtubule Regulation of Focal Adhesions
Researchers from the Bershadsky Lab at MBI utilized optogenetics to unlock the role of microtubules in regulating focal adhesion disassembly, an important step in cell migration. http://www.mbi.nus.edu.sg/featured-research/microtubules-and-cell-movement-a-closer-look-at-focal-adhesion-disassembly
MBInsights Annual
MBInsights: Decoding the Living Machine
An annual summary of research at the Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore
The annual is a synopsis showing the breadth of the research coming from the MBI. We are very proud of the fact that we have been able to build an institute with state-of-the-art capabilities in super-resolution microscopy and microfabrication. Our open lab environment and the energy of our students and postdocs have combined to take advantage of our experimental tools to answer important biological questions. Because we believe that these tools should be utilized to solve many more problems in the biomedical sciences, we invite you and your colleagues to join us in collaborative studies to solve those problems. Many different disciplines are needed since the problems need the tools of physicists, biologists, computational scientists, and engineers, working side-by-side to better understand how biological systems integrate mechanical cues and physical forces from the world around them.
Read more about MBInsights Annual 2017
See all editions of MBInsights Annual
Hew Choy Leong receives Alumni Award for Academic Achievement
Emeritus Professor Hew Choy Leong, Senior Advisor to MBI, is honoured with an Outstanding Alumni Award for Academic Achievement.
A Warm Welcome to the 2025 Ph.D Cohort!
MBI is delighted to welcome the 2025 cohort of Ph.D students. Coming from a rich tapestry of countries – China, Vietnam, Singapore, India and the Philippines – these eleven outstanding individuals bring with them interdisciplinary expertise and fresh perspectives that will enrich MBI’s vibrant research community.
Takumi Kawaue
Visiting Research Fellow, Toyama Group
MBI Publications
Latest Publications
- Sanz-Moreno V, and Low BC. Cell signaling across scales in health and disease. Curr Opin Cell Biol 2025; 97:102581. [PMID: 40946374]
- Matsubara T, Miller CP, Min C, Su C, Choi JS, Lim CT, Phillip JM, Kim J, and Kim D. Topographic cues regulate collective cell dynamics in curved nano/microgrooved tubular microchannels. Lab Chip 2025;. [PMID: 40938106]
- Joukhdar H, Lee SS, Cox TR, Choi YS, Wise SG, Young JL, Yeo GC, and Lim KS. Engineering Aging: Approaches to Model and Deconstruct Biological Complexity. Adv Mater 2025;:e12523. [PMID: 40923206]
- Dinh Le T, Tran Y, Gao Y, Valerio VL, Ge Z, and Lim CT. Laser-induced graphene for biomedical applications: innovations in health monitoring and diagnostics. Nanoscale Horiz 2025;. [PMID: 40878095]
- Bellamy C, Hajal C, Ligon KL, and Touat M. Revisiting an old therapy for new, promising combinations: biology and perspectives of lomustine in glioma treatment. Neuro Oncol 2025;. [PMID: 40827019]
- Tanida S, Fuji K, Lu L, Guyomar T, Lee BH, Honigmann A, Grapin-Botton A, Riveline D, Hiraiwa T, Nonomura M, and Sano M. Predicting organoid morphology through a phase field model: Insights into cell division and lumenal pressure. PLoS Comput Biol 2025; 21(8):e1012090. [PMID: 40825079]
- Venugopal Menon N, Lee J, Truong HD, Bharathkumar S, and Lim CT. Orbital shaker-driven gut-on-a-chip platform for drug-induced permeability and microenvironment studies. Lab Chip 2025;. [PMID: 40824384]
- Tomida K, Ong HT, Young JL, and Chan CJ. Capturing ovarian dynamics through spatial profiling of the mechano-microenvironment. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2025; 175:103642. [PMID: 40795409]
- Zhang Q, Xu X, Jiang J, Han Z, Ye Y, He J, Chua CY, Wang X, Wang J, Wu B, Li A, Liu S, Wong TLM, and Luo X. Comparison between cap-aspiration lumpectomy versus endoscopic submucosal dissection for the treatment of small gastric submucosal tumors: a prospective randomized controlled trial. Surg Endosc 2025;. [PMID: 40775469]
- Li Z, Dai A, Lin S, Zhang R, and Li B. Twist-Induced Networking and Fast Propagation of Defects in Three-Dimensional Active Nematics. Phys Rev Lett 2025; 135(2):028302. [PMID: 40743152]
Less is More: Simplified 3D Nanoscopy via Vortex Interference Widens Access
Researchers from the Kanchanawong Lab at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS makes cutting-edge 3D nanoscopy more accessible to researchers without elaborate optical engineering.
Rac-1 Regulated Cadherin Clusters Mark Naive Stem Cells
Researchers from the Kanchanawong Lab at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS discover a marker of ground-state pluripotent stem cells and what governs it.
Confined Migration Shapes the Bony Fate of Stem Cells
Researchers from the Holle Lab at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS discover that migration through confined spaces causes lasting nuclear changes in stem cells, biasing them toward bone formation.
Disrupted Cell-Matrix Interactions Drives Aging and Reveals New Paths for Skin Regeneration
Researchers from the Li Lab discover how α5-integrin–FN interactions preserve dermal integrity, offering new insights for antiaging strategies targeting ECM organization and fibroblast function.
DECIPHERing the Role of Cell-Matrix Interactions in Ageing Heart Health
Researchers from the Soft Nano-Biomaterials Lab at MBI developed a material system to enable precise investigation into how individual ECM properties affect cultured heart cells.
Contributions
MBInsights is created and curated by the MBI Science Communications Unit. The Science Communications Unit works towards enhancing awareness of progress made in the field of mechanobiology to the general public, science enthusiasts, young students and scientists working in alternative fields. This is achieved by promoting the latest findings in our own research, and in the field in general, through the media, the production of online educational resources, and outreach events.
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