Cytoskeletal Mechanics & Energetics
This research proposes to bridge some of the essential biochemical activities within the cytosol of a cell and its mechanical response at the macroscopic level. It is funded by the New Frontiers in Research Funds-Exploration and is carried out in collaboration with Dr. Gwynn Elfring.
Selected Papers
M Ferraresso, A Kong, M Hasan, GJ Elfring, D Agostinelli, M Bacca (2022). Energetics of Cytoskeletal Gel Contraction. arXiv preprint arXiv:2211.10021
M Bacca, OA Saleh, RM McMeeking (2019). Contraction of polymer gels created by the activity of molecular motors. Soft Matter 15, 4467 – 4475
K Chen, A Vigliotti, M Bacca, RM McMeeking, VS Deshpande, JW Holmes (2018). Role of boundary conditions in determining cell alignment in response to stretch. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115 (5), 986-991 77 2018