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.
Prof. Lim Chwee Teck elected as an FREng, and received the Otto Schmitt Award
Professor Lim Chwee Teck elected as an International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and received the Otto Schmitt Award from IFMBE
Takumi Kawaue
Visiting Research Fellow, Toyama Group
MBI Publications
Latest Publications
- Biswas A, Lou Y, Ng BH, Tomida K, Darpe S, Leong KW, Wu Z, Lu TB, Teng X, Toyama Y, Bonne I, and Chan CJ. Surface mechanics and compressive stress impact mammalian follicle development. Nat Commun 2025; 16(1):9578. [PMID: 41173887]
- Liu X, Liu J, Wang Y, Yao M, Baker KB, Klapholz B, Brown NH, Goult BT, and Yan J. The mechanical response of vinculin. Sci Adv 2025; 11(44):eady6949. [PMID: 41171905]
- HaiYang W, Hui Juan CD, Zhao-Yong L, and Thai T. Mechanopharmacology of cellular microenvironment stiffness: Therapeutic strategies for age-related diseases. Br J Pharmacol 2025;. [PMID: 41159491]
- Ho CZ, Lawther DB, Huang CB, Bharathkumar S, Beh SW, Poon EW, Lim PS, Lee KW, Felisha C, Tay SC, Yow I, Young JL, Wu SK, and Low BC. Protocol for AI-assisted quantitative analysis and setup of tumor spheroid invasion into tissue. STAR Protoc 2025; 6(4):104140. [PMID: 41075251]
- Chan CJ. Editorial for special issue: Environmental control of oogenesis and ovulatory dynamics. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2025; 175:103659. [PMID: 41067114]
- Jiang X, Xu P, Feng F, Grenci G, and Saw TB. Revealing Electromechanical Control of Tissue Homeostasis Using a Two-Layer Microfluidic Device. J Vis Exp 2025;(223). [PMID: 41052031]
- Jaeschke A, Hepburn MS, Mowla A, Kennedy BF, and Chan CJ. Three-dimensional quantitative micro-elastography reveals alterations in spatial elasticity patterns in murine ovaries during ageing. Commun Biol 2025; 8(1):1409. [PMID: 41039052]
- Li H, Lan L, Chen H, Zaw Thin M, Ps H, Nelson JK, Evans IM, Ruiz EJ, Cheng R, Tran L, Allen M, Ma J, Yi T, Wang C, He Y, Guppy N, Sadanandam A, Lin S, Zhang C, and Behrens A. SPP1 is required for maintaining mesenchymal cell fate in pancreatic cancer. Nature 2025;. [PMID: 40993391]
- Cabillic M, Forriere H, Bettarel L, Butler C, Neuhaus A, Idrissi I, Sambrano-Lopez ME, Rossbroich J, Müller L, Ries J, Grenci G, Viasnoff V, Levet F, Sibarita J, and Galland R. In-depth single molecule localization microscopy using adaptive optics and single objective light-sheet microscopy. Nat Commun 2025; 16(1):8362. [PMID: 40993142]
- Wang H, Huang Z, Shen X, Lee Y, Song X, Shu C, Wu LH, Pakkiri LS, Lim PL, Zhang X, Drum CL, Zhu J, and Li R. Publisher Correction: Rejuvenation of aged oocyte through exposure to young follicular microenvironment. Nat Aging 2025;. [PMID: 40987959]
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.
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.
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.
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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