IPLS invited speaker - Dr Vito Conte (Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain)

Title: Integrating in vitro and in silico techniques to quantify epithelial tissue dynamics

Abstract: Biomechanics is central to a vast number of cellular and developmental processes in biology such as embryogenesis, tissue repair and cancer metastasis. In this talk I focus on how understanding cells and tissues in biomechanical terms using quantitative methods and in silico physical modeling allows us to study how forces structure living systems. I will first introduce techniques I use such as Traction Force Microscopy and Cell Stress Microscopy and describe how such techniques are increasingly utilised to quantify the biomechanical determinants of in vitro epithelial motion. I will specifically analyse two cases of epithelial migration and repair and then proceed to illustrate a further technique called Video Force Microscopy. This technique has the potential to extend similar biomechanical quantifications to in vivo phenomena like Ventral Furrow formation in the Drosophila Melanogaster embryo. I will finally show how integrating all such computational techniques with experiments gives new insight into the developmental and cellular processes of living systems.