Event

There is increasing evidence that both mechanical and biochemical signals play important roles in morphogenesis and collective cell migration. The development of complex organisms, in particular, has been proposed to rely on the feedback between mechanical and biochemical patterning events. However, integrating the two in a theoretical framework capable of making meaningful and quantitative predictions has remained challenging. Here, I will discuss two examples of our current efforts towards this. I will first present work on intestinal organoid morphogenesis, where we show that crypt/villus formation is orchestrated by cellular fate, creating patterns of mechanical and osmotic forces robustly shaping the organoid. I will then talk about how MDCK cells generate mechanochemical waves, and use them for symmetry-breaking/optimal long-ranged polarization in wound healing.