From Physics to Function

With the increased appreciation that physical forces are key regulators of all biological processes, new emerging scientific communities are forming around topics such as physical forces in cancer and mechanobiology in different biological processes ranging from development to homeostasis. Currently, there exists somewhat of a void between the biologists and the physicists working on these topics. The interests are shared but the communication between the two crowds is limited by the lack of a common language. On one hand, there are vast advances being made in generating tuneable materials, versatile biomimetic polymers and artificial 3D scaffolds, and these are linked to advanced modelling and understanding of the physical parameters of these systems. However, the biological questions addressed may have limited physiological relevance and lack careful consideration of the burning questions in biology. On the other side, the cell biologists/developmental biologists/cancer biologists lack contact with the physicists, modellers and material scientists, and are unable to connect their biology to the relevant physical principles and available methodology. They lack understanding of the theory behind tissue mechanics and the engineering skills to investigate them. They would benefit massively from closer collaboration with the “other crowd”. Therefore, the main goal of this Workshop is to foster integration between physics and biology across scales, approaches, and participant backgrounds. The Workshop will be entail “biology-physics duets” – talks given jointly by two currently collaborating speakers, with different backgrounds. These will be accompanied by “solo” talks and relevant round table discussions on how physics and biology can be better integrated.

Topics: 1) Mechanotransduction from cell adhesions to the nucleus 2) Cytoskeleton mechanics and migration 3) Modelling of biological processes across scales 4) Top-down versus bottom-up approaches to living systems 5) How to promote cross-disciplinary research on biologically relevant questions