FU Chaoyu

Research Fellow, Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore

cfu.mbi@nus.edu.sg
Level 10 T-Lab
National University of Singapore
5A Engineering Drive 1
Singapore 117411

Fu Chaoyu

Research Fellow

Principal Investigator

Yan Jie

Research Interests

Mechanical activation and regulatory function of the mechanosensitive membrane receptor

Qualifications

Ph.D. (Mechanobiology), National University of Singapore (NUS) (2016-2021)
B.Sc. (Applied Bioscience), Zhejiang University (ZJU) (2012-2016)

Biography

Fu Chaoyu earned his Ph.D. from the Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore. Under the guidance of Associate Prof. Virgile Viasnoff and Prof. Michael Sheetz, he developed a strong foundation in mechanobiology and gained advanced training in cancer biology, cell biology, protein engineering, biophysics, advanced microscopy, and microfabrication. He became a postdoctoral research fellow for Prof. Yan Jie at Department of Physics, NUS (2022-2025) and is currently a postdoctoral research fellow for Prof. Yan Jie at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS (2026-now).
He has long been engaged in studying the mechanobiology of membrane receptors, focusing on the activation dynamics and functional regulation mechanisms of mechanosensitive membrane receptors (such as aGPCRs and cadherin) within multiscale soft matter systems. He has made a series of significant contributions:

  1. Established a multiscale mechanical research framework spanning molecular (nanometer),cellular (micrometer), and tissue (mesoscopic) levels;
  2. Elucidated the mechanical activation mechanisms of mechanosensitive membrane protein receptors across different levels, including ligand binding and intercellular mechanical communication;
  3. Revealed how mechanosensitive membrane receptors regulate tumor cell aggregation and epithelial tissue stress dissipation through mechano-chemical coupling.

Recent Publications

  1. Wang J, Fu C, Chang S, Stephens C, Li H, Wang D, Fu YC, Green KJ, Yan J, and Yi R. PIEZO1-mediated calcium signaling reinforces mechanical properties of hair follicle stem cells to promote quiescence. Sci Adv 2025; 11(22):eadt2771. [PMID: 40435254]
  2. Arora A, Rizvi MS, Grenci G, Dilasser F, Fu C, Ganguly M, Vaishnavi S, Paramsivam K, Budnar S, Noordstra I, Yap AS, and Viasnoff V. Viscous dissipation in the rupture of cell-cell contacts. Nat Mater 2025;. [PMID: 40355570]
  3. Zhang Y, Chen K, Tang SC, Cai Y, Nambu A, See YX, Fu C, Raju A, Lebeau B, Ling Z, Chan JJ, Tay Y, Mutwil M, Lakshmanan M, Tucker-Kellogg G, Chng WJ, Tenen DG, Osato M, Tergaonkar V, and Fullwood MJ. Super-silencer perturbation by EZH2 and REST inhibition leads to large loss of chromatin interactions and reduction in cancer growth. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2024;. [PMID: 39304765]
  4. Le S, Yu M, Fu C, Heier JA, Martin S, Hardin J, and Yan J. Single-molecule force spectroscopy reveals intra- and intermolecular interactions of Caenorhabditis elegans HMP-1 during mechanotransduction. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121(37):e2400654121. [PMID: 39236238]
  5. Fu C, Dilasser F, Lin S, Karnat M, Arora A, Rajendiran H, Ong HT, Mui Hoon Brenda N, Phow SW, Hirashima T, Sheetz M, Rupprecht J, Tlili S, and Viasnoff V. Regulation of intercellular viscosity by E-cadherin-dependent phosphorylation of EGFR in collective cell migration. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121(37):e2405560121. [PMID: 39231206]
  6. Fu C, Huang W, Tang Q, Niu M, Guo S, Langenhan T, Song G, and Yan J. Unveiling Mechanical Activation: GAIN Domain Unfolding and Dissociation in Adhesion GPCRs. Nano Lett 2023;. [PMID: 37831892]
  7. Huang W, Fu C, and Yan J. Single-Cell Quantification of the Mechanical Stability of Cell-Cell Adherens Junction Using Glass Micropipettes. Methods Mol Biol 2023; 2600:267-280. [PMID: 36587103]
  8. Fu C, Arora A, Engl W, Sheetz M, and Viasnoff V. Cooperative regulation of adherens junction expansion through Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) activation. J Cell Sci 2022;. [PMID: 35099018]
  9. Yang Y, Nguyen E, Sankara Narayana GHN, Heuzé M, Fu C, Yu H, Mège R, Ladoux B, and Sheetz MP. Local contractions regulate E-cadherin rigidity sensing. Sci Adv 2022; 8(4):eabk0387. [PMID: 35089785]