A one-day symposium on the Mechanics of Development will be held on June 21, 2011, immediately prior to the 2011 Summer Bioengineering Conference in Farmington, Pennsylvania. This symposium will be the Third US National Symposium on Frontiers in Biomechanics, which is sponsored by the US National Committee on Biomechanics (USNCB). The meeting will bring together developmental biologists and bioengineers/physicists to discuss recent advances in this new field and how new collaborations can attack specific problems in embryonic development.
Developmental biologists have been interested in morphogenesis and the fundamental physical forces that shape embryos and organs for well over a hundred years, but with the advent of molecular genetic techniques most interest turned toward mapping the signaling pathways that regulate development. This research has been extraordinarily fruitful, providing insights into the causes of human disease and birth defects. In the meantime, however, the physical aspects of development have received relatively little attention, leading to a fundamental lack of understanding of the connection between molecular mechanisms and the physical processes that actually construct the embryo. Recently, some developmental biologists have begun to recognize this gap and now consider the physical aspects of embryogenesis in their research. To address these questions a diverse range of ad-hoc collaborations and interdisciplinary groups of biologists, engineers, physicists, and mathematicians have been formed. However, these collaborations remain few in number.
The main objectives of this meeting are (1) to foster collaborations between engineers and developmental biologists; (2) to stimulate interest among engineers in embryonic development; and (3) to define problems in developmental biology that deserve more attention in the future, especially those problems that are relatively unknown or underappreciated by the engineering community. At this meeting, speakers will discuss how they attack specific problems in embryonic development, as well as what they feel are the most important areas for future study. This symposium apparently will be the first national meeting to bring together leading researchers in developmental biology and biomechanical engineering to discuss the physical mechanisms of development, focusing primarily on morphogenesis. The focus of this Symposium on the interface between biomechanics and development and its venue prior to a large national bioengineering meeting provides a unique opportunity to expand the breadth of the field and encourage new investigators.
Intellectual Merit: This meeting will shape the emerging fields of developmental mechanics, synthetic biology, and tissue engineering. These apparently diverse fields share many common questions and goals but have little opportunity to interact. This meeting proposes to bring together both prominent researchers and young investigators from these three fields seeking new areas of collaboration and research.
Broader Impact: A noteworthy feature of Frontiers meetings is their emphasis on young investigators. Typically more than half of those in attendance are Ph.D. students, postdoctoral fellows, and young faculty. Funds from this grant will provide support to as many young investigators as possible. A lunch-time workshop and panel discussion will provide ample opportunity for one-on-one interactions between speakers and symposium participants.
A one-day symposium on the Mechanics of Development was held in Farmington, Pennsylvania, on June 21, 2011. This symposium was the Third US National Symposium on Frontiers in Biomechanics, which is sponsored by the US National Committee on Biomechanics (USNCB). This meeting apparently was the first national meeting to bring together leading researchers in developmental biology, biomedical engineering, and biophysics to discuss the physical mechanisms of embryonic development. The main objectives of this meeting were (1) to foster collaborations between engineers and developmental biologists; (2) to stimulate interest among engineers in embryonic development; and (3) to define problems in developmental biology that deserve more attention in the future, especially those problems that are relatively unknown or underappreciated by the engineering community. Specific comments by attendees suggested that the symposium successfully addressed all three objectives. The meeting included talks by 11 speakers, including keynotes presented by Eric Wieschaus (Princeton University; recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine) and Roger Kamm (MIT; Director of the Science and Technology Center on Emergent Behaviors of Integrated Cellular Systems, EBICS). A noteworthy feature of Frontiers meetings is their emphasis on young investigators. About half of those in attendance were Ph.D. students, postdoctoral fellows, or young faculty. A poster session and panel discussion provided ample opportunity for one-on-one interactions between speakers and symposium participants. The outcomes of this meeting will help shape the emerging fields of developmental mechanics, regenerative medicine, and tissue engineering. These apparently diverse fields share many common questions and goals but have had little opportunity to interact. This meeting brought together both prominent researchers and young investigators from these three fields seeking new areas of collaboration and research.
