The research objective of this award is to use a combination of numerical simulation and analytic calculations to explore the nonequilibrium mechanics of active cytoskeletal networks. The cytoskeleton of living cells is a chemically complex network of filamentous proteins, cross-linking molecules, and molecular motors, which drive the network into a complex and nonequilibrium steady state. Studies conducted under this award will investigate how the state of motor activity can tune the mechanical response of this filament network, and how the binding and unbinding of cross linkers contributes to the structural reorganization and viscoelasticity of the network. These network models will be validated against simplified experimental systems and then applied to the study of how cells interact mechanically with their environment.
If successful, these studies would generate new insight into a frontier problem in the statistical mechanics of motor-driven filament networks concerning the evolution of their structure and elastic moduli due to motor activity within them. This new insight would have broad implications for understanding the mechanics of living cells. Specifically, one would learn more about how cells exert forces on and adhere to their surroundings. These properties are of prime physiological relevance for elucidating cell motility and adhesion. The numerical simulation packages produced over the course of these studies will also benefit other researchers seeking simulation tools to explore the response of the cytoskeleton to forces or changes in the evolution of the active network due to the introduction of different cross linking molecules. The educational plan focuses on course development in engineering and physics at the undergraduate and graduate level in order to bring biomechanics more into the mainstream at the awardees' institution.
