We have used a novel biomechanical tool that has revealed a fundamental way in which developing tissues actively change their material properties in response to deformations in order to protect the tissue from mechanical damage. This we believe will interest a wide audience: from developmental biologists to applied scientists. We also expect this phenomenon to inspire engineers and clinicians in the design of bioactive materials for therapies related to wound healing, cancer, scarring, tissue engineering and bio-architecture. This fellowship has also uncovered how mechanical forces are directing the precision of morphogenesis and development. Our findings show that simple patterns of mechanical tension rather than complicated biochemical circuits can be at the basis of specialized and precise organismal patterning such as 3D tissue folding. This changes fundamentally the way we understand organismal growth.
At the Institute level and beyond this fellowship has brought multiple collaborations and new ongoing projects as well as wide range of novel mechanobiological (tissue stretching, compression, tissue force relaxation assays, tissue micropipetting) and computational (3D finite element model of the tissue) assays and techniques that will establish a unique tissue and cell mechanobiology recognition to the Host Institute. New members of Institute staff have also been hired to follow up on the findings stemming from this fellowship. Finally, given the resultant data, the fellowship will likely help the Project Lead as well as the Beneficiary to establish themselves as the to-go experts in the field of tissue mechanobiology.
