In this project, the PI will develop basic models of cell-substrate and cell-cell adhesions, connecting essential molecular scale properties of adhesion molecules with cellular scale observables. The models will focus on generic features and reveal the essential physics of adhesion systems at the cellular scale. The project will explore the dynamics of cellular adhesions using continuum theory, simulations and mechano-chemical modeling. The approach will connect the properties of molecular components in biological adhesions with measurable dynamic phenomena at the cellular level. The work will identify principles that organize cell-substrate and cell-cell adhesions, and mechanisms behind processes such as cell mechanosensation and cell-cell signaling. The project will use a mechanical view of biological components, and will combine mechanics with chemistry at the molecular level. This work is also essential for a systems understanding of cellular components in achieving important biological function. The project will connect to graduate training programs at Johns Hopkins, the Institute for NanoBioTechnology (INBT) and Physical Sciences in Oncology Center (PSOC) where the PI is a participating faculty. A new graduate course will serve as the primary computational methods course for the INBT students. The work will also integrate both academic and ethnic diversity, and interface with a student exchange program established between the investigator and Morgan State University. The PI will host summer minority undergraduate students from Morgan State to gain valuable research experience in the laboratory.
