Our Research Mission
Our group is mainly interested in the following questions
- How does mechanical stress modify mechanical parameters of biological material, and how is this exploited for biological function?
- How does mechanical stress impact on the growth of cells and tissues?
Current research foci in my lab are
- Measurement of the mechanical properties of the actin cell cortex of live cells
- The influence of cell mechanics on mitotic rounding and cell division in cancer cells
- The effect of mechanical tension on the binding dynamics of actin-associated proteins
- Study of mechanical stresses in tissue development
We combine experimental and theoretical work.
Our method set includes
- Atomic force microscopy and optical tweezer
- Cell culture and basic related biochemical methods
- Optical microscopy
- Continuum mechanics and concepts of viscoelasticity
- Theory of dynamical systems and Mathematical modelling
Selected Publications
Hosseini K, Frenzel A, Fischer-Friedrich E
EMT changes actin cortex rheology in a cell-cycle dependent manner
bioRxiv 10.1101/2020.12.15.422849 (2020)
Hosseini K, Sbosny L, Poser I, Fischer-Friedrich E
Binding dynamics of α-actinin-4 in dependence of actin cortex tension
Biophysical Journal 119, p. 1091-1107 (2020)
Download the matlab image analysis script used in this publication (ZIP archive, 64 KB)
Hosseini K, Taubenberger A, Werner C, Fischer-Friedrich E
EMT-induced cell mechanical changes enhance mitotic rounding strength
Advanced Science 7, 2001276 (2020)
Mokbel M, Hosseini K, Aland S, Fischer-Friedrich E
The Poisson ratio of the cellular actin cortex is frequency-dependent
Biophysical Journal, 118, p. 1968–1976 (2020)
Jawerth L, Fischer-Friedrich E, Saha S, Wang J, Franzmann T, Zhang X, Sachweh J, Ruer M, Ijavi M, Saha S, Mahamid J, Hyman AA, Jülicher F
Protein condensates as aging Maxwell fluids
Science 370, p. 1317-1323 (2020)
Jawerth L, Ijavi M, Ruer M, Saha S, Hyman A, Jülicher F, Fischer-Friedrich E
Salt-dependent rheology and surface tension of protein condensates using optical tweezers
PRL 121: 258101 (2018)
Fischer-Friedrich E
Active prestress leads to an apparent stiffening of cells through geometrical effects
Biophys. J. 114, 419–424 (2018)
Group Members
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Dr. Elisabeth Fischer-Friedrich | Group Leader |
| Annika Frenzel | Technician |
| Kamran Hosseini | Predoc |
| Karla Yanín Guerra Santillán | Predoc |
| Mirco Bonati | Predoc |
| Valentin Mathias Ruffine | Predoc |
