Mechanobiology of cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesions.

We integrate tools and methods to probe the mechanosignaling across and within cells using: extracellular matrix micropatterning to drive different states of cytoskeleton strain energy; traction force microscopy (TFM) to measure cell-generated traction forces; Förster resonance energy transfer tension biosensors to measure molecular tension in structural proteins; and microfabricated tools to apply controlled stretch or forces to multi-cellular structures.