Dr. Vaishnavi Ananthanarayanan
Email: vaishnavi@iisc.ac.in
Department: BioSystems Science and Engineering
Semester: Aug - Dec
Course timing: To be updated
Course venue: To be updated
No announcements
This course will provide an in-depth understanding of mechanics of the cell including theory of cellular architecture, mechanical forces, deformations, and adhesions, leading up to force generation and interaction of cells with the external environment. Additionally, practical aspects, including measurement of cell mechanics using experimental techniques such as micropipette aspiration, single particle tracking and atomic force microscopy will be presented. The topics covered will culminate in broad applications of cell mechanics in physiology, cell biology and biophysics with the syllabus comprising cell shapes, biomaterials (soft filaments and sheets in cells), forces inside cells, random walks, movement in a viscous fluid, viscoelasticity (background, constitutive models and measurement in cells), complex filaments, rheology of cytoskeletal filaments, biomembranes (bilayers, micelles, vesicle formation), cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions, micropipette aspiration, single particle tracking, atomic force microscopy, applications of cell mechanics viz. cell division, migration, morphogenesis, cancer metastasis.
Introductory course in Mathematics and Biology at the under-graduate level.
Traditionally, biochemical signals have been at the crux of all aspects of biology. Recently, there has been a growing body of science implicating mechanical phenomena in the functioning of cells in the context of both health and disease.
After taking the course, the students will be able to: