Objective
The emergence of coherent behaviour is ubiquitous in the natural world and has long captivated biologists and physicists alike. One area of growing interest is the collective motion and synchronization arising within and between simple motile organisms. My goal is to develop and use a novel experimental approach to unravel the origins of spontaneous coherent motion in three model systems of biofluids: (1) the synchronization of the two flagella of green algae Chlamydomonas Rheinhardtii, (2) the metachronal wave in the cilia of protist Paramecium and (3) the collective motion of swimming microorganisms in active suspensions. Understanding the mechanisms leading to collective motion is of tremendous importance because it is crucial to many biological processes such as mechanical signal transduction, embryonic development and biofilm formation.
Up till now, most of the work has been theoretical and has led to the dominant view that hydrodynamic interactions are the main driving force for synchronization and collective motion. Recent experiments have challenged this view and highlighted the importance of direct mechanical contact. New experimental studies are now crucially needed. The state-of-the-art of experimental approaches consists of observations of unperturbed cells. The key innovation in our approach is to dynamically interact with microorganisms in real-time, at the relevant time and length scales. I will investigate the origins of coherent motion by reproducing synthetically the mechanical signatures of physiological flows and direct mechanical interactions and track precisely the response of the organism to the perturbations. Our new approach will incorporate optical tweezers to interact with motile cells, and a unique μ-Tomographic PIV setup to track their 3D micron-scale motion.
This proposal tackles a timely question in biophysics and will yield new insight into the fundamental principles underlying collective motion in active biological matter.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology phycology
- natural sciences biological sciences developmental biology
- natural sciences biological sciences biophysics
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-STG - Starting Grant
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2016-STG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
2628 CN DELFT
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.