Mechanobiology Institute

SPSS
2026-07-15 15:00 - 17:00, 2026-07-08 15:00 - 17:00, 2026-07-01 15:00 - 17:00, 2026-06-24 15:00 - 17:00, 2026-06-17 15:00 - 17:00, 2026-06-10 15:00 - 17:00, 2026-06-03 15:00 - 17:00, 2026-05-27 15:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Shanghai) and 10 more dates | T-Lab Level 5 Seminar Room
First Speaker:

Second Speaker:

PhD Qualifying Exam
2026-03-31 10:00 - 11:00 UTC | T-Lab Level 5 Seminar Room
Examinee:
Shelly Anne GNAPRAGASAN, Michelot Group

Title:
EFFECT OF ACTB MUTATION ON ACTIN CYTOSKELETAL STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS

Abstract:
Baraitser Winter syndrome 1 (BWS1) is a rare congenital disorder caused by heterozygous mutations in the ACTB gene. ACTB encodes β-actin, a major cytoplasmic actin isoform that is essential for cytoskeletal organization and regulates key cellular processes, including cell morphology, migration, and immune cell function. Patients with BWS1 frequently present with immune dysfunction and recurrent infections, indicating a critical requirement for β-actin in immune cell activity. However, the molecular mechanisms by whichACTB mutations impair actin function and compromise immune responses are not understood. I hypothesize that patient derivedACTB mutations alter β-actin structural integrity and biochemical properties, leading to defects in cytoskeletal organization and downstream immune cell dysfunction. To investigate this, I will use the highly conserved and genetically tractable yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) actin homolog, ACT1, as a model system to study BWS1 associated mutation G366V. Using haploid yeast strains expressing mutant actin, I will quantify actin expression level and characterize growth defects of mutant cells. I will examine F-actin organization and dynamics using actin markers in order to determine which actin networks and functions are affected by this mutation. In parallel, I will perform in depth structural analysis of this mutation to formulate hypothesis about its biochemical consequences. I will purify this actin mutant to characterize its stability, polymerization defects, and potential altered interactions with actin-binding proteins (ABPs). To establish translational relevance, findings from yeast will be extended to immune cells (cytotoxic T cell) through collaboration to determine how actin dysfunction contributes to impaired immunological synapse (IS) formation critical for immune cell function to fight infection. Overall, this multiscale approach will provide mechanistic insights caused by ACTB mutations and may reveal critical regulatory pathways that can be targeted to restore cytoskeletal function and improve immune cell activity in BWS1 patients.

Important Note
The examination following the seminar is a closed-door session. All attendees are requested to exit from the meeting room after student’s presentation/Q&A.

PhD Oral Exam
2026-03-26 12:00 - 13:00 UTC | T-Lab Level 5 Seminar Room
Examinee:
Kwang Leng Gek

Title:
Investigate Behaviour of Adipose Tissue at Fat-Muscle Interface for Development of Fat Mimetic in Plant-based Whole Cut Meat Analog

PhD Qualifying Exam
2026-03-12 10:00 - 11:00 UTC | T-Lab Level 5 Seminar Room
Examinee:
Kottpalli VIDHIPRIYA, Young Group

Title:
ELUCIDATING THE AGE AND STIFFNESS REGULATION OF THE TISSUE RESIDENT MACROPHAGE POLARIZATION

Abstract:
Aging and cardiac fibrosis are associated with increased tissue stiffness and chronic inflammation, which are critical drivers of cardiac remodelling and contribute to the development of heart failure. Importantly, cardiac tissue-resident (TR) macrophages are among the most abundant immune cell types and are specialized cells responsible for maintaining tissue homeostasis, immune surveillance, and regulation of inflammatory response. However, the mechanism by which age-associated changes in ECM mechanical properties regulate cardiac TR macrophage polarisation remains poorly understood. We hypothesize that increased tissue stiffness during aging drives TR macrophages towards a pro-inflammatory-like phenotype mediated by mechanosensitive genes. Here, our reanalysis of a publicly available SMART-Seq transcriptomics dataset of young and aged murine cardiac macrophages (Xia et al., 2024) revealed that TR macrophages are transcriptionally distinct from monocyte-derived (M-d) macrophages, with ~87% of age- associated differentially expressed genes are lineage specific, downregulation of ECM organization and actomyosin pathways and identification of 18 TR specific mechanosensitive genes dysregulated with aging. To experimentally test this mechanism, we isolated cardiac TR macrophages using CD45+ magnetic bead enrichment and confirmed purity by immunofluorescence staining with CD68 and LYVE1 markers, as well as by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) using CD45, CD68, and CCR2 markers, achieving ~80% CCR2- TR macrophage purity. These isolated cells were then cultured on polyacrylamide hydrogels with stiffness mimicking young (10 kPa) and aged (40 kPa) cardiac tissue stiffness, suggesting a stiffness-dependent shift towards a pro-inflammatory-like phenotype assessed by iNOS/CD206 fluorescence intensity ratio (n=1, N=3 technical replicates). To further define the mechanism, we will investigate the identified mechanosensitive signaling pathways mediating stiffness-dependent TR macrophage polarisation. Furthermore, we have fabricated a polyacrylamide stiffness gradient hydrogel platform (E=12 to 60 kPa), which will be functionalised with decellularized ECM from young and aged murine cardiac tissue to recapitulate the cardiac microenvironment. This approach will enable us to define the stiffness-dependent transition from anti- to pro-inflammatory phenotype in cardiac TR macrophages. Overall, this project aims to provide mechanistic insights into how age-associated tissue stiffness drives chronic inflammation and will contribute to our understanding of immune-mechanical interactions in age-associated cardiac remodelling.

Key words: Cardiac aging, Resident macrophages, Stiffness gradient, PA hydrogels.

Important Note
The examination following the seminar is a closed-door session. All attendees are requested to exit from the meeting room after student’s presentation/Q&A.

Event Testing Hura Hura
2025-11-28 08:00 - 2025-11-30 17:00 UTC | Harpy, Happiness Street, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
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Event Testing Hura Hura
Overview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHOmBV4js_E
November 28
@
8:00 am
–
November 30
@
5:00 pm

Harpy

Happiness Street

Singapore,
Singapore
Singapore

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Exploring Other Events

Testing Event #2
2025-10-29 08:00 - 17:00 UTC | Harpy, Happiness Street, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
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Testing Event #1
2025-10-24 08:00 - 17:00 UTC | Harpy, Happiness Street, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

Bootcamp 2021
2021-07-29 08:00 - 2021-08-07 17:00 UTC
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Bootcamp 2021
July 29, 2021
–
August 7, 2021

About

People

Program

Registration and Location

Sponsor

This ten-day “Bootcamp” style course will cover fundamental concepts and practical approaches in understanding cellular functions. The focus is to develop a breadth of knowledge in quantitative techniques to allow bioscience researchers to pursue further depth in their respective research work.
The Bootcamp lectures are open to all interested graduate students and post-docs. For graduate students the lectures will be reinforced in thematic-based practicals, leading to 4-MC.
Major topics include:
gene editingcellular structure and processesstatisticsbio-imagingimage analysis,and quantitative methods in biologyThere will be extensive tutorials in using Python, complemented by a hands-on microscopy and wet-lab sessions. Students will work as part of a team to tackle problems and to develop a report on an open area of modern bioscience research.
The biophysics of bacterial pathogenesis
Like their larger multicellular hosts, bacteria and other prokaryotic cells are subjected to, and generate, mechanical forces. When invading a host cell, forces must be overcome, and in some cases, the dynamic structures of the host cell may be exploited by bacteria to facilitate their invasion.
For example, bacteria can modulate the cell membrane and manipulate the cytoskeleton for entry into the host, or for the secretion of virulence factors. In doing so the bacteria are able to establish an infection. However, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying bacterial uptake, and the mechanisms by which bacteria can evade the body’s defenses remain unclear. At MBI, we are investigating the biophysical aspects of bacterial pathogenesis, and in particular, are interested in the mechanisms by which bacteria like Salmonella utilize the endocytic membrane trafficking pathway to survive within the host. In this case, Salmonella will survive within an endosomal compartment called the salmonella containing vacuole (SCV). Salmonella also thrives within its host in a non-infectious phase for an extended period of time. Here, the bacteria will exist as a biofilm. How salmonella lives within SCVs, the various cytoskeletal modifications that take place during invasion and the regulatory mechanisms that are modulated to enable Salmonella to exist as a biofilm, are all researched at MBI.
Additional work in this area is looking at the formation and nature of cytoskeletal pedestals, which, in the case Enteropathogenic E.coli (EPEC) infection, are found within host cells at the site of bacterial attachment.
Coordinators

Pakorn Tony KANCHANAWONG
Super-resolution microscopy, integrin-mediated cell adhesions, nanoscale architecture of cellular structures

Pakorn Tony KANCHANAWONG
Super-resolution microscopy, integrin-mediated cell adhesions, nanoscale architecture of cellular structures

Pakorn Tony KANCHANAWONG
Super-resolution microscopy, integrin-mediated cell adhesions, nanoscale architecture of cellular structures

Pakorn Tony KANCHANAWONG
Super-resolution microscopy, integrin-mediated cell adhesions, nanoscale architecture of cellular structures
Lecturers

Pakorn Tony KANCHANAWONG
Super-resolution microscopy, integrin-mediated cell adhesions, nanoscale architecture of cellular structures

Pakorn Tony KANCHANAWONG
Super-resolution microscopy, integrin-mediated cell adhesions, nanoscale architecture of cellular structures

Pakorn Tony KANCHANAWONG
Super-resolution microscopy, integrin-mediated cell adhesions, nanoscale architecture of cellular structures

Pakorn Tony KANCHANAWONG
Super-resolution microscopy, integrin-mediated cell adhesions, nanoscale architecture of cellular structures
Program

Download Program Overviews

Download Program Overviews

How to Register?
Click this or go to the website www.registrationboothcamp.com . There is no registration fee for the conference.
Deadline
20th June 2021
Registrants interested in submitting an abstract for an oral presentation (15 mins) may submit the abstract (200 word limit) via online registration.
Location
LT7, Engineering Block EA Building, Level 3National University of Singapore5A Engineering Drive 1Singapore 117411
+65 6872 6123
Corporate Sponsors

Supported By

How to Become Sponsor?
MBI 3M 2021 presents an opportunity for sponsors to showcase technologies and build partnerships with researchers designing cutting-edge engineering tools for mechanobiology and other life science research.
Currently, MBI 3M 2021 has 17 Satellite Centres across the Asia-Pacific, providing sponsors with the ability to target this growing regional scientific community. As many of our Satellite Centres are also run by early-career researchers, we expect our audience to be particularly interested in learning about the latest lab equipment, bioengineering technology advances, and publication venues that can assist their scientific investigations.
If you are interested in exploring sponsorship opportunities with MBI 3M 2021, please contact us at mbi3mconference21@gmail.com.
Deadline
20th June 2021
Registrants interested in submitting an abstract for an oral presentation (15 mins) may submit the abstract (200 word limit) via online registration.
Location
LT7, Engineering Block EA Building, Level 3National University of Singapore5A Engineering Drive 1Singapore 117411
+65 6872 6123
This ten-day “Bootcamp” style course will cover fundamental concepts and practical approaches in understanding cellular functions. The focus is to develop a breadth of knowledge in quantitative techniques to allow bioscience researchers to pursue further depth in their respective research work.
The Bootcamp lectures are open to all interested graduate students and post-docs. For graduate students the lectures will be reinforced in thematic-based practicals, leading to 4-MC.
Major topics include:
gene editingcellular structure and processesstatisticsbio-imagingimage analysis,and quantitative methods in biologyThere will be extensive tutorials in using Python, complemented by a hands-on microscopy and wet-lab sessions. Students will work as part of a team to tackle problems and to develop a report on an open area of modern bioscience research.
The biophysics of bacterial pathogenesis
Like their larger multicellular hosts, bacteria and other prokaryotic cells are subjected to, and generate, mechanical forces. When invading a host cell, forces must be overcome, and in some cases, the dynamic structures of the host cell may be exploited by bacteria to facilitate their invasion.
For example, bacteria can modulate the cell membrane and manipulate the cytoskeleton for entry into the host, or for the secretion of virulence factors. In doing so the bacteria are able to establish an infection. However, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying bacterial uptake, and the mechanisms by which bacteria can evade the body’s defenses remain unclear. At MBI, we are investigating the biophysical aspects of bacterial pathogenesis, and in particular, are interested in the mechanisms by which bacteria like Salmonella utilize the endocytic membrane trafficking pathway to survive within the host. In this case, Salmonella will survive within an endosomal compartment called the salmonella containing vacuole (SCV). Salmonella also thrives within its host in a non-infectious phase for an extended period of time. Here, the bacteria will exist as a biofilm. How salmonella lives within SCVs, the various cytoskeletal modifications that take place during invasion and the regulatory mechanisms that are modulated to enable Salmonella to exist as a biofilm, are all researched at MBI.
Additional work in this area is looking at the formation and nature of cytoskeletal pedestals, which, in the case Enteropathogenic E.coli (EPEC) infection, are found within host cells at the site of bacterial attachment.
Coordinators

Pakorn Tony KANCHANAWONG
Super-resolution microscopy, integrin-mediated cell adhesions, nanoscale architecture of cellular structures

Pakorn Tony KANCHANAWONG
Super-resolution microscopy, integrin-mediated cell adhesions, nanoscale architecture of cellular structures

Pakorn Tony KANCHANAWONG
Super-resolution microscopy, integrin-mediated cell adhesions, nanoscale architecture of cellular structures

Pakorn Tony KANCHANAWONG
Super-resolution microscopy, integrin-mediated cell adhesions, nanoscale architecture of cellular structures
Lecturers

Pakorn Tony KANCHANAWONG
Super-resolution microscopy, integrin-mediated cell adhesions, nanoscale architecture of cellular structures

Pakorn Tony KANCHANAWONG
Super-resolution microscopy, integrin-mediated cell adhesions, nanoscale architecture of cellular structures

Pakorn Tony KANCHANAWONG
Super-resolution microscopy, integrin-mediated cell adhesions, nanoscale architecture of cellular structures

Pakorn Tony KANCHANAWONG
Super-resolution microscopy, integrin-mediated cell adhesions, nanoscale architecture of cellular structures
Program

Download Program Overviews

Download Program Overviews

How to Register?
Click this or go to the website www.registrationboothcamp.com . There is no registration fee for the conference.
Deadline
20th June 2021
Registrants interested in submitting an abstract for an oral presentation (15 mins) may submit the abstract (200 word limit) via online registration.
Location
LT7, Engineering Block EA Building, Level 3National University of Singapore5A Engineering Drive 1Singapore 117411
+65 6872 6123
Corporate Sponsors

Supported By

How to Become Sponsor?
MBI 3M 2021 presents an opportunity for sponsors to showcase technologies and build partnerships with researchers designing cutting-edge engineering tools for mechanobiology and other life science research.
Currently, MBI 3M 2021 has 17 Satellite Centres across the Asia-Pacific, providing sponsors with the ability to target this growing regional scientific community. As many of our Satellite Centres are also run by early-career researchers, we expect our audience to be particularly interested in learning about the latest lab equipment, bioengineering technology advances, and publication venues that can assist their scientific investigations.
If you are interested in exploring sponsorship opportunities with MBI 3M 2021, please contact us at mbi3mconference21@gmail.com.
Deadline
20th June 2021
Registrants interested in submitting an abstract for an oral presentation (15 mins) may submit the abstract (200 word limit) via online registration.
Location
LT7, Engineering Block EA Building, Level 3National University of Singapore5A Engineering Drive 1Singapore 117411
+65 6872 6123
