Biophysical Society Thematic Meeting | Riga 2026

Active and Responsive Soft Matter: From Biological to Engineered Systems

Friday Speaker Abstracts

MICROPATTERNED CELL-GEL SYSTEMS FOR STUDYING ECM MECHANICAL REMODLEING AND CELLUALR INTERACTIONS Ayelet Lesman 1 ; 1 Tel-Aviv University , School of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tel-Aviv, Israel Fiber networks such as collagen compose the extra-cellular matrix (ECM), providing mechanical cues that regulate cell behavior. Understanding how the ECM evolves under cell contractile forces and how its mechanical properties change over time is therefore essential for understanding tissue function in normal and pathological conditions. Within this context, we study several key questions: how cell-induced forces propagate through the ECM and mediate long-range cellular interactions; how cell-generated contractile forces mechanically-remodel fibrous matrices; and how cells respond to the mechanical changes in the ECM. We micropattern cells in biologically-relevant gels and engineer controlled in vitro systems in which the positions of cells (or cell-spheroids) and the distances between them are precisely defined. Using this micropatterned platform, we study a variety of cell types, each producing distinct remodeling signatures within the ECM. We combine these experiments with computational simulations to gain insight into the underlying physical mechanisms. In a recent ongoing project, we use micropatterned tumor spheroids embedded in fibrous matrices to recapitulate key tumor associated matrix features, including peritumoral collagen densification, fiber alignment, and local stiffening. This platform reproducibly generates tissue-associated collagen signatures (TACS)-like architectures and serves as an in vitro model of the tumor microenvironment suitable for real-time imaging. Using this system, we investigate how immune cells navigate the mechanically-challenging tumor microenvironment. Relevant publications: Ergaz et al. Micropatterning the organization of multicellular structures in 3D biological hydrogels; Insights into collective cell-cell mechanical interactions. Biofabrication, 16(1), 2024. DOI 10.1088/1758 5090/ad0849 Goren et al. Micro-Tensile Rheology of Fibrous Gels Quantifies Strain-dependent Anisotropy. Acta Biomaterialia 181, 2024. DOI 10.1016/j.actbio.2024.03.028 Godeau et al. Traction force and mechanosensitivity mediate species-specific implantation patterns in human and mouse embryos. Science Advances 11, 33, 2025. CONFORMATIONAL ENSEMBLES AND CONDUCTIVITY MODELING IN TETRAMERIC ION CHANNEL RECEPTORS David Weitz 1 ; 1 Harvard University, Boston. Massachusetts, USA No Abstract

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