Recent Featured Research
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.
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.
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.
Building the Future of Cell Biology Together at Cell Bio 2026
Professor Rong Li, President of the American Society for Cell Biology calls for participation for Cell Bio 2026 in San Diego. The meeting will feature more than 400 scientific talks and over 2,500 poster presentations, alongside symposia, minisymposia, and special interest subgroup sessions selected by the Program Committee directly from member-suggested topics.
Takumi Kawaue
Visiting Research Fellow, Toyama Group
MBI Publications
Latest Publications
- Brazaca LC, Moreno Lozano A, Mayol B, Scheidt DT, De Fazio D, Kim E, Maroli G, Rosati G, Ates HC, Wang H, Kim HJ, Ha J, Yang J, Jeon J, Goldhahn J, Sonigara KK, Li L, Zhou M, Cho S, Fan S, Wu S, Gonçalves VM, Dei Santi VHB, Zhou W, Heng W, Chung WG, Li X, Zou Y, Jin Y, Wu Z, Bandodkar AJ, Merkoçi A, Dincer C, Lim CT, Kim D, Carrilho E, Salvatore GA, Shen G, Park I, Jeerapan I, Park J, Wu J, Ho JS, Rogers J, Wang J, Plaxco KW, Ferreira de Oliveira MC, Pumera M, Brasier N, Veiseh O, Lee PS, Tsukruk VV, Gao W, Zhu Y, Wang ZL, Li Z, Sempionatto J, and Oliveira ON. Advances and Challenges in Wearable Sensors for Health Monitoring. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2026;. [PMID: 42460879]
- Wu T, Yuan P, Pan Y, Xie C, Li X, Zhou B, Zhang Q, Gao B, and Lim CT. Shrinky Dinks-Based Bionic Meta-Microneedles for Advancing Wound Healing. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2026;. [PMID: 42455152]
- Tan H, Hwang IY, Jayabalan N, Lee HL, Ong LJY, Lim CT, Chang MW, and Toh Y. A Modular Liver-Microbial Microfluidic Platform to Evaluate Therapeutic and Adverse Effects of Microbial Metabolites. Adv Healthc Mater 2026;:e71442. [PMID: 42433126]
- Bertocchi C, Alegría JJ, Vásquez-Sepúlveda S, Ibanez-Prat R, Srinivasan A, Arrano-Valenzuela I, Castro-Pereira B, Soto-Montandon C, Trujillo-Espergel A, Montenegro-Rojas I, Deguchi S, Owen GI, Kanchanawong P, Cerda M, Motta G, Zaidel-Bar R, and Ravasio A. Systematic AI-assisted screening of the cadhesome to map epithelial monolayer mechanics. Cell Commun Signal 2026;. [PMID: 42399739]
- Uchida M, and Toyama Y. Tissue turnover and rejuvenation through mechanics. Front Cell Dev Biol 2026; 14:1828482. [PMID: 42388978]
- Neo SY, Mei Y, Chong J, Lee KY, Lim JY, Rajapakse MP, Shuen TWH, Zhao J, Tong L, Kajiji T, Cheong HS, Toh C, Neo ZW, Chong LY, Tang WL, Ang N, Tay A, Chen X, Johan H, Howland SW, Yeong JPS, Biswas SK, Lim E, Yu H, Xu S, Toh HC, Liu H, and Lam K. Nur77 agonism invigorates Natural Killer cell immunity against hepatocellular carcinoma. Nat Commun 2026;. [PMID: 42374019]
- Lee CZW, Tasnim F, Huang X, Sethi R, Song Y, Kozaki T, De Schepper S, Ang N, Low I, Hwang YY, Chen J, Yu H, and Ginhoux F. Direct contact between iPSC-derived macrophages and hepatocytes drives reciprocal acquisition of Kupffer cell identity and hepatocyte maturation. Elife 2026; 14. [PMID: 42371995]
- Huang X, Soong YT, Wang J, Ng CJY, Mitra K, Tasnim F, and Yu H. HIVIL: A human in vitro inflammatory liver model recapitulates immune-associated drug effects with high predictivity. NAM J 2025; 1:100032. [PMID: 42369407]
- Jiang C, Fu Y, Jin B, Gao R, Li W, Wang Z, Huang H, Zhuang Z, Dai Y, Jing J, and Liu Y. Nongenetic engineering nanozyme proximity labeling reveals subcellular in situ interactomes and trafficking pathways of nanoparticles. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2026; 123(26):e2521555123. [PMID: 42330271]
- 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]
A Cell Never Forgets: How Prior Environments Affect Confined Cell Migration
Researchers from the Holle Lab at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS discover that cells retain mechanical memory that influences subsequent migration despite environmental changes, suggesting broader implications for understanding wound healing, fibrosis and cancer metastasis.
How Structural Imbalance Drives Inflammatory Signaling in Senescent Cells
In a study published in Molecular Biology of the Cell led by Celestine Ho at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS, researchers discover that HIF-1α-activation in SASP is a defining feature of the SASP induced by diverse stressors, acting independently of micronuclei generation and cGAS/STING activation.
Violet vs. Blue: Controlling Mechanotransduction with a Single-protein Light Switch
In a study published in the Journal of Cell Science, led by Ryosuke Nishimura at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS, researchers developed an optogenetic tool to precisely manipulate talin’s structure and observe the resulting cellular behavior.
The Pressure That Shapes Life: Mechanical Forces Behind Egg Maturation
Researchers from the Chan Lab at MBI demonstrate the importance of compressive stress exhibited by theca cells in healthy follicle maturation and surrounding support cells, suggesting a new perspective in understanding infertility.
Quantitative Micro-Elastography: New Imaging Tool Uncovers Age-Dependent Mechanical Changes in Ovarian Tissue
Researchers from the Chan Lab at MBI develop a a novel method called quantitative micro-elastography to create detailed 3D maps of ovarian stiffness in mice—revealing crucial insights that could lead to new infertility treatments.
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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