creating a
healthier future

Forces across scales

6-9 March 2024 | i3S, Porto, Portugal

Abstracts book >>

The “Forces across scales” meeting focuses on mechanobiology, a multidisciplinary area of research that explores how mechanical forces interact with biological systems, influencing cellular behavior, tissue development, and disease progression. In this meeting we will bridge different scales and processes, bringing together researchers from diverse disciplines, such as biology, biophysics, bioinformatics, and bioengineering to stimulate knowledge exchange and disseminate cutting-edge research findings. Participants are encouraged to share their latest findings and present unpublished results on all aspects of mechanobiology.

We will have 3 full days of great science on mechanobiology and force generation across scales, plus 1 optional day of great social interactions while traveling along the Douro River to visit wineries and enjoy the blossoming almond trees!

There will be plenty of opportunities to present your science and meet researchers from diverse disciplines.

The Organizing Committee

 

 IMPORTANT DEADLINES 

Registration deadline: December 8th, 2023

Abstract submission deadline: December 8th, 2023

Poster >>

Venue

 

The meeting will be held at i3S – Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, University of Porto.

Rua Alfredo Allen, 208; 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
Tel: +351 226 074 900 | E-mail: events@i3s.up.pt
GPS coordinates: 41º 10’ 30.008’’ N, 8º 36’ 12.488’’ W.

Organization

Meeting Organizers:
Ana Xavier Carvalho, i3S, Portugal
Jorge Ferreira, FMUP and i3S, Portugal
Marie-Emilie Terret, CIRB, Collège de France, France
Laurent Blanchoin, Interdisciplinary Research Institute Grenoble, France

Program

Day 1 | 06 March 2024

9h30 - 10h00 Registration and poster setup 

10h00 – 10h15 Welcome remarks
Claudio Sunkel, i3S Director

10h15 - 11h45 Molecular machines and motors
Chair: Reto Gassmann
10h15 Invited talk | Torque generation by mitotic motors in microtubule overlaps
Stefan Diez
, B CUBE, TU Dresden, Germany

10h45 Invited talk | Cooperation of opposite polarity motors dynein and Kif1C
Anne Straube, Centre for Mechanochemical Cell Biology & Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK

11h15 Selected talk | Hot-wiring dynein-2 establishes roles for IFT-A in retrograde train assembly and motility
Tiago J. Dantas, i3S and IBMC, Universidade do Porto, Portugal

11h30 Selected talk | Dynamic self-patterning of microtubules and motors of opposite polarity
Clothilde Utzschneider, CytoMorphoLab, France

11h45 - Keynote 1 | Microtubule mechanosensation
Chair: Stefan Diez

Manuel Théry, CEA/IPGG, France

12h45 – 14h15 Lunch with poster viewing

14h15 – 15h45 Cytoskeletal forces
Chair: Anne Straube

14h15 Invited talk | Mechanical generation of bicephalous and toroidal Hydra defines actin topological defects as force organizers during head regeneration
Aurelien Roux
, University of Geneva, Switzerland

14h45 Invited talk | The chemo-mechanical regulation of neuronal development and regeneration.
Kristian Franze, Institute of Medical Physics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany, and Max Planck Zentrum für Physik und Medizin, Erlangen, Germany, and University of Cambridge, UK

15h15 Selected talk | Role of contractility in the chiral swirling of endothelial cells
Laëtitia Kurzawa, CEA/IRIG/Cytomorpholab, France

15h30 Selected talk | Reversing the actin motor: F-actin processive polymerization at the minus end
Dmitri S. Kudryashov, Ohio State University, USA

15h45 – 15h55 Sponsor talk | LEICA | Take your research to the next dimension with STELLARIS TauSense fluorescence lifetime imaging and TauSTED super-resolution
John Robert Pearson, Advanced Workflow Specialist, Leica Microsystems, Spain

15h45 – 16h15 Coffee break

16h15 – 17h45 Chromatin and nuclear mechanics
Chair: Caren Norden

16h15 Invited talk | Mechanical regulation of cell states
Sara Wickstrom, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine, Germany

16h45 Invited talk | Active nuclear positioning and actomyosin contractility maintain leader cell integrity during C. elegans gonadogenesis
Ronen Zaidel-Bar
, Tel Aviv University, Israel

17h15 Selected talk | Force transmission from actin to the nucleus during confined cell migration
Inge Bos, ENS, Université PSL, France

17h30 Selected talk | Protecting Your Precious: Dynamic Topographies Drive Nuclear Mechanoprotection Events
Maaike Bril, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands

17h45 Speed Talks
Chairs: Organizers

Cytoplasmic flow is a cell size sensor that scales anaphase | Olga Afonso, Faculty of Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland

Regeneration of Branched Actin Filaments in Response to Mechanical Stress | Foad Ghasemi, Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, France

Mechanical Regulation of Cell Division Orientation: Investigating the Role of Nuclear Mitotic Apparatus Protein | Nawseen Tarannum, University of Manchester, UK

A Ras-MAPK pathway regulates pulling forces on the nucleus and intracellular hydraulic pressure during 3D cell migration| Ryan Petrie, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

18h45 Poster viewing with beers/snacks

 

Day 2 | 07 March 2024

9h15 – 11h Cell Division
9h15 Invited talk | How large cells do it: Cytoplasm mechanics and division positioning in early embryos
Nicolas Minc, Institut Jacques Monod, France

9h45 Invited talk | Mechanics of Cell Division
Sophie Dumont, Department of Bioengineering & Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, USA

10h15 Selected talk | Centrosome mechanical properties in C. elegans cell division
Julia Garcia-Baucells, University of Vienna, Austria

10h30 Selected talk | Rings driving cytokinesis, apoptosis, and cellularization in the C. elegans oogenic germline close with distinct mechanisms.
Amy Maddox, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA

10h45 – 11h15 Coffee break

11h15 - 12h45 Cell and tissue mechanics I
Chair: Manuel Théry

11h15 Invited talk | Controlling sarcomere length by a biomechanical feedback mechanism
Frank Schnorrer, Developmental Biology Institute Marseille, CNRS, Aix Marseille University, Turing Centre of Living Systems, France

11h45 Invited talk | Cellular footprints: examples of emergent memory effects in cell polarity and migration.
Raphael Voituriez,  Laboratoire Jean Perrin, CNRS / Sorbonne Université, France

12h15 Selected talk | Mechano-dependent sorbitol accumulation supports biomolecular condensate
Stephanie Torrino, Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS, IPMC, IHU RespirERA Valbonne, France

12h30 Selected talk | Study of cell-cell adhesion formation and dynamics in cancer cells using a hybrid cell - lipid bilayer system
Sayantika Ghosh, University of Cambridge, UK

12h45 – 14h15 Lunch with poster viewing

14h15 – 16h00  Cell and tissue mechanics II
Chair: Ronen Zaidel-Bar

14h15 Invited talk | Mechanomicrobiology: how bacteria sense and respond to forces
Alexandre Persat, EPFL, Switzerland

14h45 Invited talk | The only way is up: nuclear behaviour in packed neuroepithelia
Caren Norden, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Portugal

15h15 Selected talk | Non-muscle myosin II regulates presynaptic actin assemblies and neuronal mechanobiology
Biljana Ermanoska, Brandeis University, USA and University of Antwerp, Belgium

15h30 Selected talk | Local optogenetic activation of actomyosin contractility within the zebrafish neuroepithelium results in long-range, asymmetric force propagation
Helena Crellin, University of Cambridge, UK

15h45 Selected talk | Membrane cortex-attachment shapes the biomechanical polarity of neutrophils
Andreu Fernandez Gallen, CIRB College de France CNRS, Université PSL, France

16h00 – 16h15 Sponsor talk | ELVEFLOWMicrofluidics as a tool for mechanobiology research
Barbara Corelli
, Elveflow, France

16h00 – 16h30 Coffee break

16h30 – 17h30 Keynote 2 | Dynamics and mechanics in the development and aging of the mammalian oocyte
Chair: Nicolas Minc

Rong Li, Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore

17h30 - Poster viewing with beers/snacks

19h30 - Conference dinner

 

Day 3 | 08 March 2024

9h30 – 11h15 Morphogenesis and patterning
Chair: Eurico Morais de Sá

9h30 Invited talk | Mechanical strain focusing at topological defect sites in regenerating Hydra
Kinneret Keren, Physics Department, Technion- Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

10h00 Invited talk | Mechanics of blastocyst morphogenesis
Jean-Leon Maitre
, Institut Curie, France

10h30 Selected talk | Actin-microtubule interactions promote the emergence of mitotic spindle planarity in early embryos.
Aude Nommick, Institut Jacques Monod, France

10h45 Selected talk | A tension-driven sarcomere division mechanism facilitates muscle growth
Eunice HoYee Chan
, Aix Marseille University, CNRS, IBDM, Turing Centre for Living Systems, France

11h00 Selected talk | The electrical maturation of neurons is regulated by tissue mechanics via the mechanosensitive ion channel Piezo1
Eva Kreysing, University of Cambridge, UK
 
11h15 – 11h45 Coffee break
 
11h45 - 12h45 Keynote 3 | Encoding tissue shape with mechanics and geometry
Chair: Jean-Léon Maître

Thomas Lecuit, Collège de France, Paris, and IBDM-Turing Center, Aix-Marseille Univ. Marseille, France

12h45 – 14h30 Lunch with poster viewing
 
14h30 - 16h15 Cell motility and migration
Chair: Amy Maddox

14h30 Invited talk | Forces from and for morphogenesis
Elias Barriga, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany 

15h00 Invited talk | Impact of Tumor-associated Macrophages on extracellular matrix biophysical properties and associated immune cell infiltration
Hélène Moreau, INSERM U932 - Immunity and Cancer - Institut Curie, France

15h30 Selected talk | Deciphering the tubulin code readers required for symmetry breaking that polarizes cells for directed cell migration
Marin Barisic, Danish Cancer Institute, and University of Copenhagen, Denmark

15h45 Selected talk | Global coordination of protrusive forces in migrating immune cells
Patrícia Reis-Rodrigues, Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA)

16h00 Selected talk | Excitable Rho dynamics drive cell contractions by sequentially inducing ERM protein-mediated actin-membrane attachment and actomyosin contractility
Arnold Hayer, McGill University, Canada
 
16h15 – 16h45 Coffee break
 
16h45 – 18h30 Mechanics in disease
Chair: Kristian Franze

16h45 Invited talk | Self-organizing principles driving tumor hierarchy and stemness
Danijela Vignjevic, Institut Curie, France

17h15 Invited talk | Mechanisms of nuclear positioning and membrane remodeling in skeletal muscle
Edgar Gomes, iMM- instituto Medicina Molecular/ Faculdade Medicina, U. Lisboa, Portugal

17h45 Selected talk | Biomechanical constraints tune microtubule polymerization rates and impact mitotic fidelity in mammalian neural stem cells
Veronique Marthiens, Institut Curie / CNRS UMR144, France

18h00 Selected talk | Adherens Junctions and Focal Adhesions under higher tension could instruct premalignant breast cells to progress to invasive cancer cells
Carine Gonçalves, i3S and Ipatimup, Portugal

18h15 Selected talk | Dermal Forces at Play: Understanding Lymphatic Capillary Drainage of Interstitial Fluid
Frank Assen, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
 
18h30 - Closing remarks


Day 4 | 09 March 2024

09h00 – 19h05 1 day trip to the Douro Valley

Speakers

Alexandre Persat, EPFL, Switzerland

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anne Straube, Centre for Mechanochemical Cell Biology & Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caren Norden, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Portugal

 

 

 

 

 

 

Danijela Vignjevic, Institut Curie, France

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elias Barriga, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frank Schnorrer, Developmental Biology Institute Marseille, CNRS, Aix Marseille University, Turing Centre of Living Systems, France

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hélène Moreau, INSERM U932 - Immunity and Cancer - Institut Curie, France

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jean-Leon Maitre, Institut Curie, France

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kinneret Keren, Physics Department, Technion- Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kristian Franze, Institute of Medical Physics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany, and Max Planck Zentrum für Physik und Medizin, Erlangen, Germany, and University of Cambridge, UK

 

 

 

 

 

Manuel Théry, CEA/IPGG, France

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nicolas Minc, Institut Jacques Monod, France

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rong Li, Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sara Wickstrom, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine, Germany

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stefan Diez, B CUBE, TU Dresden, Germany

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sophie Dumont, Department of Bioengineering & Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, USA

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thomas Lecuit, Collège de France, Paris, and IBDM-Turing Center, Aix-Marseille Univ. Marseille, France

 

 

 

 

 

Raphael Voituriez,  Laboratoire Jean Perrin, CNRS / Sorbonne Université, France

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edgar Gomes, iMM- instituto Medicina Molecular/ Faculdade Medicina, U. Lisboa, Portugal

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aurelien Roux, University of Geneva, Switzerland

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ronen Zaidel-Bar, Tel Aviv University, Israel

 

 

 

 

 

 

Social Program

07 March 2024 | 19:30-23:00 Conference dinner: Cruise with dinner in Douro River (operated by BarcaDouro)

Meeting point: 19:30 Caves Ramos Pinto | Av. de Ramos Pinto 380, 4400-266 Vila Nova de Gaia

Attendance at the dinner is complimentary for participants who have chosen this option as part of their registration, included in the registration fee.

Participants are responsible for their own transportation from i3S to dinner

From i3S to meeting point of the conference dinner:
Metro: Line D - yellow (destination Santo Ovídio) - leave at station: Jardim do Morro (no connections – direct line)
It is a 15-minute walk from Jardim do Morro station until the meeting point.

 

09 March 2024 | 09:00-19:05 Optional Social Program: 1-day trip to the Douro Valley
Participation is subject to registration and payment.

Meeting point: 09:00 São Bento Train Station, main hall | Praça de Almeida Garrett, 4000-069 Porto

Participants are responsible for their own transportation to the meeting point. Participation in this extra social program is subject to previous registration and payment.

Abstract Submission

The call for abstracts will be open until December 8th. Abstract will be evaluated and selected for oral communication or poster communication on December 15th.

Abstracts should be structured according to the following template:

Abstract template >>

Abstract submission form >>

Registration

Registration is limited and operates on a "first-come, first-served" basis. Registration fees include coffee breaks, lunches (on 6-8 March) and conference dinner. The fee does not include the optional social program on March the 9th.

Registration will only be considered after the reception of the proof of payment.

 

Registration and payment deadline: December 8th, 2024

 

The event has reached maximum capacity, and therefore, we are unable to accommodate more registrations.

 

Fees:

Students/Postdocs: 400€

Others: 600€

 

Optional Social Program

1-day trip to the Douro Valley | 9 March 2024

Fee: 60€ | The fee includes train ticket, entrance in Douro Museum (in Peso da Régua) and lunch.

Participation is optional and subject to registration (in the registration form) and payment.

Accommodation

The following selection of hotels (all located in the city center) has been made for “Forces across scales - from cells to organisms” participants. In order to take advantage of special conditions, please use the following link for reservations:

 

Legendary Hotel ***
Website: https://www.legendaryportohotel.com/
Please use the code FORCES24 to take advantage of 5% of discount.

 

Mercure Porto Centro Santa Catarina****
Website: https://all.accor.com/hotel/1975/index.pt.shtml
Please book your accommodation using the e-mail H1975-CC@accor.com and indicate the code FORCES2024 to take advantage of 15% of discount.

 

Moov Hotel Porto Centro **
Website: https://hotelmoov.com/
Please use the code I3S2024 to take advantage of 5% of discount.

Sponsors

Gold Sponsors

 

Silver Sponsors

 

Bronze Sponsors

Information

More information:

Events Management Unit | Rua Alfredo Allen 208 | 4200-135 Porto, Portugal

Email: events@i3s.up.pt | Tel: +351 226 074 900