Recent Publications

Cell-wall mediated growth and morphing in fungi

Hyphal tip growth enables filamentous fungi to explore their environment, establish colonies, reproduce, and, in some cases, infect host organisms. This mode of growth is characterized by its remarkable morphogenesis including rapid elongation, directional tip turning, branching, and localized bulging. These dynamic shape changes are all driven by the expansion of a mechanically robust cell wall, which is synthesized and secreted from exocytic vesicles.

Using the sporangiophore of the Phycomyces blakesleeanus as a model system, we aim to understand how cell wall secretion, remodeling, and mechanical deformation are spatially and temporally coordinated to enable various morphogenetic outcomes including its helicoidal growth, phototropic, gravitropic and avoidance response.

phycomyce

Cell-mediated growth and morphogenesis in organoids

Organoids provide a powerful platform to study tissue development and disease, offering a window into how complex biological structure and function emerge from the interactions of individual cells. We investigate how collective decision-making and motion arise in such dense cell networks, focusing on how individual and collective rules between cells guide growth, morphogenesis, and pathological transformation. These multiscale interactions are key to understanding how organoids self-organize, differentiate, and adapt. 

Currently, our group concentrate on two model systems: 

  • Monolayers of endothelial cells, which orchestrate local morphogenetic events—such as angiogenesis—by actively creating and reorganizing defects within their collective structure, highlighting how dynamic rearrangements drive functional outcomes in living tissues.
  • Cell populations in bone tissues and particularly within the growth plate of developing bone. This dynamic tissue undergoes tightly regulated spatial organization and differentiation, enabling elongation and shaping of long bones. We study how external mechanical loading influences these cellular networks, potentially altering developmental trajectories or triggering repair processes—critical for understanding both normal growth and the etiology of skeletal disorders.

Damage and Fracture of complex polymer networks

Polymers are made up of long, flexible molecular chains intricately connected through a variety of bonds, some permanent and robust, others dynamic and reversible. These bonds weave together to form complex networks with diverse chain lengths, physical properties, and topological architectures. Far from being passive materials, these networks exhibit emergent mechanical behaviors that are highly sensitive to how they are built. Our research explores how the design of polymer networks governs their ability to withstand mechanical stress, resist damage, and avoid catastrophic failure. A central theme of our work is resilience: how do networks hold together, redistribute stress, and adapt under extreme conditions? We are currently investigating three key phenomena.

  • Cavitation, i.e. the sudden formation of microscopic voids when a material is subjected to large tensile stresses or negative pressures, particularly relevant in adhesives and soft materials.
  • The interplay between dynamic and permanent bonds, focusing on how their cooperative behavior can suppress fracture propagation and extend the lifetime of the material.
  • Plastic flow and damage redistribution in networks with anisotropic or irregular architectures, aiming to understand how structural complexity and directionality influence mechanical response.