Speaker: Prof. Marino Arroyo

Abstract

Epithelial tissues are very simple tissue consisting of a cohesive cell monolayer adhered to a matrix. They line free surfaces in our body to provide protection, control transport. They can also change shape during morphogenesis and adopt dynamical steady-states during homeostasis. From a physical point of view, they are remarkable multifunctional materials capable of folding, resisting cohesively extreme deformations, or selectively fracturing. This functionality relies on a hierarchical organization of dynamical structures maintained out-of-equilibrium. In this talk, I will report on our efforts to mathematically and computationally model these living materials, bridging from sub-cellular cytoskeletal and adhesion dynamics to the mechanics at the tissue scale, focusing on the time-dependent mechanics of cell monolayers under stretch and on the hydraulic fracture of cellular adhesions.

Biography

Marino Arroyo obtained a BS and MS in Civil Engineering at UPC in Barcelona, and then a PhD in Northwestern University. After a postdoctoral stay at Caltech, he joined the UPC as assistant professor in 2004, where he is a professor since 2007. He is also affiliated to the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), the International Center for Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE) and the Institute of Mathematics (IMTech-UPC). His current research focuses on mathematical and computational modeling to understand the mechanics of biological interfaces, cells and tissues, with the goal of making this understanding quantitative and mechanistic, of rationally manipulating active living materials and of engineering new bionic and bioinspired materials. He has been the recipient of the ASME/BOEING Structures and Materials Award, the Zienkiewicz Young Investigator Award by ECCOMAS and the Fellows Award by IACM, and has been awarded a starting and a consolidator ERC grants.