Multiscale Mechanics and Multiphysics of Materials Lab

Mechanobiology

You may ask yourselves at first what Mechanobiology is. Well, there are plenty of possible answers: if you love wikipedia, then you can be redirected at this website . If you are more "book" style, then there are a few good ones ( as for: Introduction to Cell Mechanics and Mechanobiology Book by Christopher R. Jacobs, Hayden Huang, and Ronald Y. Kwon ).

We may state that mechanobiology is an interdisciplinary subject, which explores the mechanisms by which cells sense and respond to mechanical signals. Through fundamentals principles, thermodynamic prescriptions, mechanobiology establishes partial differential equations to model cellular and extracellular matrix processes. These equations translate into numerical simulations, holding great potential in unravelling the multiphysics of key phenomena in a broad range of diseases, towards personalized therapies.

The aim of this course lectures is to provide an interdisciplinary background to engineers in the realm of the so-called "white economy", with specific reference to the role of mechanics in biological and biophysical processes, such as angiogenesis, cellular differentiation, cancer growth and metastasis. The setting of the course is quite descriptive, refering not just to frontal lectures yet to videos and on line resources, too. Nonetheless, lectures and homeworks deal with simple quantitative models,too.
We do believe that the course can be of interest also for non-engineer students, for example in the field of medical biotechnology.

Lectures are offered in English, by A. Salvadori together with Prof. Mitola. They cover rather advanced topics, such as:

- Large deformations Mechanics
- Thermomechanics of continua
- Multiphysics of materials
- Fundamentals of biology (prof. Mitola)
- Principles of statistical mechanics
- Polymers and biopolymers
- The cytoskeleton, endocytosis, cell migration

The course deals with preliminary concepts as well as mechanobiological applications. Assignments have been proposed to students for the final exam. In academic year 2019/2020 they concerned:

- Mechanobiology of viruses replication
- Relocation of receptors on the membrane during advection
- Innovative models for biopolymer networks

The slides compiled by the participants in the academic year 2019/2020 can be found here:

- Mechanobiology of viruses replication
- Relocation of receptors on the membrane during advection
- Innovative models for biopolymer networks

More info on the class can be found here.

Lectures