ICTS

This is a joint program of ICTS with NCBS and MechanoBiology Institute, Singapore.

The understanding of biological processes at a cellular and sub-cellular scale has made a big leap forward, thanks to the availability of new microscopy tools that enable sub-diffraction resolution and high-speed live cell / tissue imaging technologies that have made the advance from a qualitative to a quantitative description possible. Recently, the application of a wide variety of techniques to mechanically manipulate single molecules or multi-cellular cell composites has allowed scientists to begin addressing the question of how organisms react to controlled mechanical cues. This two-week long program introduces a scope of  techniques to gain quantitative information of responses of the biological material (at all scales) to perturbations of a mechanical nature, and explores how the combination of theory and experiments will lead to a systematic deciphering of the physics of how living material engages with mechanical information. In addition, there will be a short conference during the weekend between the two workshop weeks.

Scope of Workshop 
The practical part is intended primarily for early career scientists: PhD candidates and postdoctoral fellows at the beginning of their projects. Participants would choose four out of eight available modules. Instruction will consist of a set of basic lectures, hands-on practical sessions and research talks. The emphasis lies on the practical aspects of how to set up and run the presented devices. In addition, a strong theoretical thread in form of a theory module and the interaction with theoretical bio-physicists will accompany the experimental fabric of this two week engagement, both during the workshop and the conference.

Scope of Conference
During the weekend between the two workshop weeks, further invited speakers and participants will join the workshop participants to present their current research and discuss about future research opportunities in current research topics in conference mode. Poster sessions will allow the conference and workshop applicants to discuss about their research, and a number of outstanding abstracts will be selected for oral presentation.