Short CV
Ewa studied Physics and Mathematics at the École Normale Supérieure in Lyon, France. After a Masters in Biophysics, she did her PhD (2001-2005) at the Curie Institute in Paris, investigating actin networks mechanics in vitro and in cells. In 2006, she started her own Research Group at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, as a joint appointment with the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw. She was appointed Professor of Cell Biophysics and MRC programme leader at the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, University College London, in January 2013. Since 2014, she has also been the head of the Institute for the Physics of Living Systems (IPLS).
Research Interests
Ewa’s laboratory investigates the principles underlying cellular morphogenesis. Since cell shape is ultimately defined by cellular mechanical properties and by the cell’s physical interactions with its environment, biophysical approaches are essential to understand cell shape control. The lab combines cell biology, biophysics and quantitative imaging, and works in close collaboration with theoretical physicists, to investigate cell shape regulation.
Key Publications
- Bergert, M., Erzberger, A., Desai, R. A., Aspalter, I. M., Oates, A. C., Charras, G., Salbreux, G., Paluch, E. K. (2015) ‘Force transmission during adhesion-independent migration’, Nature Cell Biology 17 (4), 524-527.
- Paluch, E. K. (2015) ‘After the Greeting: Realizing the Potential of Physical Models in Cell Biology’, Trends Cell Biology 25 (12), 711-713.
- Clark, A. G., Wartlick, O., Salbreux, G., Paluch, E. K. (2014) ‘Stresses at the cell surface during animal cell morphogenesis’, Current Biology 24 (10), 484-494.
- Sedzinski, J., Biro, M., Oswald, A., Tinevez, J. Y., Salbreux, G., Paluch, E. (2011) ‘Polar actomyosin contractility destabilizes the position of the cytokinetic furrow’, Nature 476 (7361), 462-466.