Driving the future of mechanobiology: Center for Mechanical Excitability hosts its first meeting
Principal investigators from participating labs gather at The University of Chicago to discuss the next steps for collaboration to advance mechanobiome research
This March, experts from different mechanical excitability areas met at The Knapp Center for Biomedical Discovery in Chicago to discuss strategies to establish collaborations at the recently formed Center for Mechanical Excitability (CME)—initiative to drive mechanobiome research at The University of Chicago with external partnerships.
Eduardo Perozo, CME Director opens the event
Principal investigators for more than 10 labs joined the first gathering of the CME to present ongoing studies, share recent research findings, explore internal and external collaboration opportunities, and discuss strategies for the overall development of the center. The event brought together experts from biochemistry, molecular biology, physics, genetics, and neurobiology. It started with a reminder of the CME’s goals and mission: To explore aspects from different areas related to the mechanobiome, where forces are sensed, transduced, and exerted using advanced biophysical and technological methods.
The topics discussed spanned from cellular and molecular mechanics and tissue dynamics to the various biological and computational methods that can be used to revolutionize the field. The center’s main goal was highlighted with clarity and purpose: To understand how biological systems respond to mechanical and chemical forces, and to explore what tools and methods can be used to push the boundaries of expanding the field of mechanobiome, aiming at the vital role of interdisciplinary collaboration in uncovering the mechanics of life at every scale.
Margaret Gardel, Yamuna Krishnan, Ruth Anne Eatock, Marcos Sotomayor.
The meeting concluded with a call for efforts to place the CME as the leading center in exploring mechanobiome—phenomena that touches almost every fundamental process in biology—, assisting advance basic biology and ultimately the understanding and treatment of diseases where mechanobiology plays a defining role, such as hearing loss, cardiovascular disease, metastatic cancer, somatosensory, and musculoskeletal ailments.
The Center for Mechanical Excitability First Annual Symposium will be held at The University of Chicago in the spring of 2026. It will be the center’s first open event and will welcome mechanobiology and related field experts and enthusiasts!
From left: Tobin Sosnick, Michael Glotzer, Marcos Sotomayor, Ronald Rock, Eduardo Perozo, Yamuna Krishnan, Jocelyn Malamy, Patrick La Riviere, Ruth Anne Eatock, Aaron Dinner, Yun Fang, Francisco (Pancho) Bezanilla, David Kovar, Bozhi Tian.