The Mechanobiology Research Center, UNIBS was founded at the University of Brescia in 2019. It is the result of the collaboration between the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (DIMI) and the Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine (DMMT). The Center promotes studies and research on biological systems through an interdisciplinary approach, with the ultimate goal of understanding and describing the mechanical interactions in the microenvironment and their influence on cellular, motility and chemical modifications responses. These vital processes are fundamental in all tissues and organs of our organism; they are also at the basis of pathological events, such as tumor metastasis. The development of different tissues during the embryonic stages is driven by mechanical events, as is the maintenance of homeostasis in adult tissues. The study of mechanobiology is applicable to all physiological and pathological processes from embryogenesis to pathogenesis.
Research, teaching, business
The challenges of modern scientific society most of the time do not come in disciplinary packages. They are complex and as such they must be an integrated response, with interdisciplinary actions such as those that, in the field of Mechanobiology, have been planned by the Research Center on Mechanobiology, UNIBS. There, mechanics and biology meet with the aim of understanding, interpreting and making predictions through experiments, models and simulations of fundamental biological processes such as cell differentiation, "mechanotransduction" (sensing and response of cells and tissues to "signals ") or dysfunctions of the cellular response to stimuli. The historical time we are living pushes us to deal also with the Mechanobiology of virus replication processes, in the belief that we can dare to make a scientific contribution. An innovative experience between two historically and culturally separate disciplines, in which a natural dedication to research is intertwined with a deep attention to teaching.
In fact, if multidisciplinary efforts offer a great series of opportunities, they also involve considerable complexity due to the different scientific and cultural background. These important limitations hinder the path to scientific integration into the academic community and negatively impact the implementation of training strategies for young researchers. The research center offers the latter a path of integration of contents and languages, in order to understand how cellular contact and interactions with proteins of the microenvironment can contribute to the maintenance of homeostasis of cells and tissues.
Develop mathematical models to describe cellular behaviors
The foundation of the center is an idea developed after years of interdisciplinary scientific collaboration between the m4lab and the rdlab and aims to: i) consolidate the scientific research plan currently underway on the Mechanobiology of the processes underlying tissue vascularization physiological and pathological including tumor dissemination; ii) promoting new research projects, in close collaboration with company components; iii) disseminate the value of interdisciplinary scientific thinking in the field of the white economy to educational institutions and to the wider public, also through seminars and study days.
Many distinct phenomena of physiological and pathological processes manifest a strong coupling between mechanical reactions and biochemical stimuli, at the molecular and cellular level, both in single and in groups of cells. Since these processes have an interdisciplinary attribute, The Mechanobiology Research Center, UNIBS proposes an approach that involves the cultural formation of different scientific areas and which aims to provide investigative tools, such as the construction of digital twins.
In the center, strategies will be developed to integrate experimental biology with multiphysics models implemented in high-performance open source computational software libraries. Unprecedented predictive and interpretative capabilities are the expected results: multiphysics codes will allow us to capture the intimate nature of biological processes (from tumor pathologies to embryogenesis), simulating reality through the rigor of mathematical formulations. To this end, digital twins can guide the interpretation of real experiments, revealing each specific contribution, and conjecture virtual experiments, predicting events not yet observed. These qualities embody the philosophy of the Galilean scientific method through cutting-edge technologies. To this end, the validation of simulations and data calibration is unavoidable, even more so in the pathological field.
Indeed, cells translate the alterations of the microenvironment into mechanical and chemical responses. The cell plays an active role in these processes, as it reorganizes its microenvironment according to its metabolic needs. This ongoing remodeling drives movement, growth and all other cellular functions. In pathological processes, cellular interactions are altered and this determines a modification of cellular forces and metabolism. At The Mechanobiology Research Center, UNIBS, researchers aim to describe these cellular responses through interpretative and predictive multiphysics models, to be used in precision medicine in diseases such as obesity, fibrosis, cancer or in the field of reproductive biotechnology. The development of in vitro models makes it possible to predict, in the range of probabilities, a possible behavior and response to the drug of the cells, useful for treating the patient in a targeted way.
A PhD fellowship is open on the subject of Chemo-Mechanics of Angiogenesis. The student, who must have graduated in a non-Italian institution, will be co-advised by Proff. A. Salvadori, S. Mitola, and other colleagues at the UNIBS.
The candidate will work at the forefront of experimental and modeling in the vibrant area of cell motility and receptor-ligands interactions. The position requires the ability of working in an interdisciplinary team, with co-designed experimental and simulations focus. A background in solid mechanics and thermodynamics, knowledge of nonlinear finite element methods and ability to use FEM codes is positively considered.
If interested, please contact alberto.salvadori(at)unibs.it. A copy of a CV, eligibility to work in Italy, and a description of research interests is mandatory.
Further information and administrative facts can be found at
https://en.unibs.it/university/calls-and-notices-students-and-graduates/call-competitive-examinations-research-doctorate-courses
- M. Serpelloni, M. Arricca, C. Ravelli, E. Grillo, S. Mitola, A. Salvadori (2023), Mechanobiology of the relocation of proteins in advecting cells: modeling, experiments, and simulations, in press onto the Journal of Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology
- C. Bonanno, M. Serpelloni, M. Arricca, R.M. McMeeking, A. Salvadori (2023), Actin based motility unveiled: How chemical energy is converted into motion, Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, Volume 175, June 2023, 105273, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmps.2023.105273
- Serpelloni, M. Arricca, M.; Bonanno, C.; Salvadori, A.; Chemo-transport-mechanics in advecting membranes. International Journal of Engineering Science, Volume 181, 1 December 2022, 103746. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijengsci.2022.103746
- Arricca, M.; Salvadori, A.; Bonanno, C.; Serpelloni, M. Modeling Receptor Motility along Advecting Lipid Membranes. Membranes 2022, 12, 652. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12070652
- M.Serpelloni, M.Arricca, C.Bonanno, A. Salvadori, (2021) Modeling cells spreading, motility, and receptors dynamics: a general framework, Acta Mechanica Sinica, 37(6), 1013-1030.
- M. Serpelloni, M. Arricca, V. Damioli, C. Ravelli, E. Grillo, S. Mitola, A. Salvadori, A Model of Integrin and VEGF Receptors Recruitment on Endothelial Cells. In: Abali B., Giorgio I. (eds) Developments and Novel Approaches in Biomechanics and Metamaterials. Advanced Structured Materials, vol 132. Springer, (2020)
- Salvadori A., Damioli V., Ravelli C., Mitola S., "Modeling and Simulation of VEGF Receptors Recruitment in Angiogenesis," Mathematical Problems in Engineering, (2018), Article ID 4705472.
- V Damioli, A Salvadori, GP Beretta, C Ravelli, S Mitola, "Multi-physics interactions drive VEGFR2 relocation on endothelial cells", Scientific Reports 7, Article number: 16700 (2017)
We express our highest gratitude to the companies FERRIERA VALSABBIA and COMIPONT for supporting our Mechanobiology program through the generous FERRIERA VALSABBIA FELLOWSHIP and COMIPONT FELLOWSHIP.
