Ronen ZAIDEL-BAR
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Israel
Laboratory website
Zaidel-Bar Cell Adhesion Lab
Genome Regulation
Genome Regulation Genome regulation encompasses all facets of gene expression, from the biochemical modifications of DNA, to the physical arrangement of chromosomes and the activity of the transcription machinery. The genome regulation programs that [...]
What is the nucleus?
What is the nucleus? The nucleus is an organelle found in most eukaryotic cells, the exception being red blood cells. In animal cells it is both the largest and stiffest organelle and is easily [...]
How is the nucleus coupled to the cytoskeleton?
How is the nucleus coupled to the cytoskeleton? Cytoskeletal filaments bridge the nucleus to the plasma membrane, which in turn is anchored at sub-cellular sites to extracellular substrates via a plethora of proteins that [...]
What are chromatin, heterochromatin and euchromatin?
What is chromatin, heterochromatin and euchromatin? The human genome contains over 3 billion base pairs or nucleotides. These nucleotides, which are arranged in a linear sequence along DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), encode every protein and [...]
What are chromosomes and chromosome territories?
What are chromosomes and chromosome territories? While metaphase chromosomes can be depicted as distinct bodies with well-defined shapes and sizes, interphase chromosomes are less uniform and, by filling the nuclear space, difficult to distinguish. [...]
How is nuclear “prestress” maintained?
How is nuclear “prestress” maintained? As an integral part of cellular behavior, cells are sensitive to matrix rigidity, local geometry and stress or strain applied by external factors [1]. In recent years, it has [...]
Ronen Zaidel-Bar
Visiting Faculty
Currently Visting
6-12 Nov 2018
Office: T-Lab, Level 5
Research Areas
Cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion, Regulation of actomyosin contractility and dynamics, C. elegans development, mechanics and molecular mechanisms of morphogenesis
Research Interests
- How do specific cytoskeletal proteins contribute to the organization and function of cell adhesion and actomyosin structures?
- How are signals processed within the “adhesome” and “contractome” to arrive at the appropriate cytoskeletal arrangement for a given cell state?
- How do adhesion sites and the cytoskeleton sense and respond to external mechanical forces?
Biography
Dr Zaidel-Bar obtained his Ph.D. working with Prof Benny Geiger (Weizmann Institute of Science) on the role of force in regulating cell-matrix adhesions. Their work first focused on single proteins and evolved to encompass the entire adhesome network. In his Postdoctoral training with Prof Jeff Hardin (University of Wisconsin – Madison) Dr Zaidel-Bar switched from studying cells in culture to employing the genetic model organism C. elegans for the study of cell-cell adhesions during development. Dr Zaidel-Bar was attracted to Singapore by the opening of MBI and was awarded the Singapore National Research Foundation Fellowship for promising young investigators.
Education
PhD Weizmann Institute of Science
Recent Publications
- 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]
- Ray S, Agarwal P, Nitzan A, Nédélec F, and Zaidel-Bar R. Actin capping protein regulates actomyosin contractility to maintain germline architecture in C. elegans. Development 2023;. [PMID: 36897576]
- Avivi Kela S, Sethi K, Tan PY, Suresh D, Ong HT, Castaneda PG, Amin MR, Laviv T, Cram EJ, Faix J, and Zaidel-Bar R. Tension-dependent RHGF-1 recruitment to stress fibers drives robust spermathecal tissue contraction. J Cell Biol 2022; 222(2). [PMID: 36574264]
- Chen Z, Oh D, Biswas KH, Zaidel-Bar R, and Groves JT. Probing the effect of clustering on EphA2 receptor signaling efficiency by subcellular control of ligand-receptor mobility. Elife 2021; 10. [PMID: 34414885]
- Hu S, Grobe H, Guo Z, Wang Y, Doss BL, Pan M, Ladoux B, Bershadsky AD, and Zaidel-Bar R. Reciprocal regulation of actomyosin organization and contractility in non-muscle cells by tropomyosins and alpha-actinins. Mol. Biol. Cell 2019;:mbcE19020082. [PMID: 31216217]
- Desai SK, Padmanabhan A, Harshe S, Zaidel-Bar R, and Kenney LJ. Salmonella biofilms program innate immunity for persistence in Caenorhabditis elegans. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2019;. [PMID: 31160462]
- Bouffard J, Cecchetelli AD, Clifford C, Sethi K, Zaidel-Bar R, and Cram EJ. The RhoGAP SPV-1 regulates calcium signaling to control the contractility of the C. elegans spermatheca during embryo transits. Mol. Biol. Cell 2019;:mbcE18100633. [PMID: 30726159]
- Priti A, Ong HT, Toyama Y, Padmanabhan A, Dasgupta S, Krajnc M, and Zaidel-Bar R. Syncytial germline architecture is actively maintained by contraction of an internal actomyosin corset. Nat Commun 2018; 9(1):4694. [PMID: 30410005]
- Agarwal P, and Zaidel-Bar R. Principles of Actomyosin Regulation In Vivo. Trends Cell Biol. 2018;. [PMID: 30385150]
- Chen Z, Oh D, Biswas KH, Yu C, Zaidel-Bar R, and Groves JT. Spatially modulated ephrinA1:EphA2 signaling increases local contractility and global focal adhesion dynamics to promote cell motility. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2018;. [PMID: 29866846]
Lab Members
The guiding hands (and feet)
Focal adhesions in embryonic stem cells
MBI Senior Research Fellow Rishita Changede wins Best Presentation at TOPIM
MBI Senior Research Fellow Rishita Changede wins the Best Presentation award at the TOPIM Winter Conference 2019, for her presentation on the role of integrin nanoclusters as the basis for the formation of cell-matrix adhesions that aid in sensing the mechanical properties, such as rigidity, of the underlying tissue.
Ratna Prasuna Vogirala
Alumni, Shivashankar Group
Mechanics shaping the germline
Actomyosin corsets protect the epithelium
Moving with the flow
Environmental sensing through intracellular dynamics determines how cells migrate
MBI welcomes students from Seoul National University
SNU students toured the MBI labs, familiarizing themselves with the methodology and applications of state-of-the art techniques like microfabrication, micropatterning, and superresolution microscopy through demonstrations conducted by MBI researchers.
Probing epithelial mechanics
Tools of the trade
Wu Kaixiang Selwin
Senior Research Fellow, Low Group
Hamizah Cognart
Research Fellow, Low Group
Prit Benny Malgulwar
Research Fellow IFOM, Visiting Research Fellow MBI, Shivashankar Group
Olivier Hamant
Prof Olivier Hamant from INRA will be visiting MBI from 4 Dec 2018 – 3 June 2019.
MBI’s 10th Anniversary Conference Post-Event Report
Mechanobiology Institute’s 10th Anniversary Conference was recently held at the National University of Singapore. Titled ‘Mechanobiology After 10 Years: The Promise of Mechanomedicine’, the four-day conference was an intellectual feast, bringing together pioneering scientists with young researchers and students to engage in fruitful discussions under the increasingly diverse umbrella of mechanobiology.
