PoL – Physics of Life | Vision and Research Avenues

Research Avenue 1

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.

Research Avenue Leader

Anne Grapin-Botton

MPI-CBG | Director of MPI-CBG

Self-organization of cells into organ communities

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© MPI-CBG

PoL Groups

Elias Barriga

Research Group Leader

Biophysical Mechanisms of Morphogenesis

hired by PoL

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Michael Brand

TUD CRTD | Professor for Developmental Genetics

Development and Regeneration of the Vertebrate Brain

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Otger Campàs

Chair of Tissue Dynamics

Physics of Embryonic Self-Organization and Morphogenesis

hired by PoL

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Christian Dahmann

TUD | Professor for Systems Biology and Genetics

Signals and mechanics in epithelial morphogenesis

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Adele Doyle

Research Group Leader

Mechanobiology of Stem Cells

hired by PoL

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Natalie Dye

Research Group Leader

Biophysics of Epithelial Growth and Tumorigenesis

hired by PoL

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Miki Ebisuya

Humboldt Professor and Chair of Cell and Tissue Control

Cross-Species Comparison and Manipulation of the Organoid Zoo

hired by PoL

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Elisabeth Fischer-Friedrich

Heisenberg Professor for Mechanics of Active Biomaterials

Mechanics of Active Biomaterials

hired by PoL

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Benjamin Friedrich

Heisenberg Professor for Biological Algorithms

Biological Algorithms: Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Cells and Tissues

hired by PoL

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Stephan W. Grill

MPI-CBG | Director of MPI-CBG, Professor for Physics of Life

Physics of Life

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© MPI-CBG

Rita Mateus

Research Group Leader

Biophysical Principles of Vertebrate Growth

hired by PoL

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Ivo F. Sbalzarini

TUD, CSBD | Professor for Scientific Computing for Systems Biology

The MOSAIC Group: Scientific Computing for Image-based Systems Biology

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© MPI-CBG

Francis Stewart

TUD BIOTEC | Professor for Genomics

Epigenetic regulation and genomic engineering

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Carsten Werner

IPF | Professor for Biofunctional Polymer Materials

Biofunctional polymer materials

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Xingbo Yang

Research Group Leader

Bioenergetics of Self-Organization

hired by PoL

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Marino Zerial

MPI-CBG | Director of MPI-CBG, Professor for Cell Biology

Principles of cell and tissue organization: from endocytosis to a systems understanding of liver structure and function

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© MPI-CBG

Associates and Affiliates

Ricard Alert

MPI-PKS, CSBD | Research Group Leader

The Physics of Living Matter

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© MPI-CBG

Catherina G. Becker

TUD CRTD, TUD Faculty of Biology | Professor for Neural Development and Regeneration

Neural Development and Regeneration

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© TUD CMCB/Magdalena Gonciarz

Jürgen Czarske

TUD | Professor for Measurement and Sensor Systems

Biomedical Computational Laser Systems (BIOLAS): Adaptive Smart Microscopy

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© Center BIOLAS, TUD

Claudia Gerri

MPI-CBG, CSBD | Research Group Leader

The fetal-maternal interface across species

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© MPI-CBG

Anne Grapin-Botton

MPI-CBG | Director of MPI-CBG

Self-organization of cells into organ communities

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© MPI-CBG

Alf O. Honigmann

TUD BIOTEC | Professor for Biophysics

Membrane Organization of Cells and Tissues

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Meritxell Huch

MPI-CBG | Director of MPI-CBG, Lise Meitner Max Planck Research Group Leader

Organoids, tissue regeneration and its deregulation in disease

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© MPI-CBG

Carl Modes

MPI-CBG | Research Group Leader

Network Complexity and Systems Biophysics

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© MPI-CBG

Anna Poetsch

TUD BIOTEC, NCT, CSBD | Research Group Leader

Biomedical Genomics

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Yael Politi

TUD B CUBE, TUD Faculty of Biology | Professor for Bioprospecting

Chitin-based biological materials and biomineralization

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© TUD CMCB, Magdalena Gonciarz

Marko Popović

MPI-PKS, CSBD | Research Group Leader

Order and disorder in driven systems

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© MPI-CBG

Jonathan Rodenfels

MPI-CBG | Research Group Leader

Energetics of Biological Systems

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© MPI-CBG

Pavel Tomancak

MPI-CBG | Research Group Leader

Patterns of gene expression in animal development

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© MPI-CBG

Jesse Veenvliet

MPI-CBG | Research Group Leader

Stembryogenesis

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© MPI-CBG

Axel Voigt

TUD | Professor for Scientific Computing and Applied Mathematics

Mathematical Modeling and Numerical Simulation of Cells and Systems

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© MPI-CBG

Maximina Yun

TUD CRTD, MPI-CBG | Research Group Leader

Regeneration of Complex Structures

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© CRTD

Yixin Zhang

TUD B CUBE | Professor for Biomolecular Interaction

Drug design and screening: from biochemical methods to 3D model system

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