Forces across scales
6-9 March 2024 | i3S, Porto, Portugal
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 Participants are encouraged to share their latest findings and present unpublished results on all aspects of mechanobiology.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
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 | ELVEFLOW | Microfluidics 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:
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