Guided Mechanochemical Self-Organization

RA1 wants to unravel the principles by which mechanics and biochemical coupled in morphogenesis. We aim to reveal how the associated modules of self-organization are guided by physical cues and upstream signaling pathways. What are the mechanisms driving symmetry breaking in tissues and organisms? How do tissues size and shape themselves? How are tissue patterns generated and maintained? How are proportions maintained during growth? What makes a tissue fluid, what makes it contract? How do tissues buckle; how do they form three-dimensional shapes? What is the role of the Extracellular Matrix (ECM) in tissue morphogenesis? To address these questions, we will synergize our expertise in model organisms and organoids to identify modules of self-organisation and mechanisms of guidance by physical and anatomical cues, as well as singling pathways.