Prof. Dapeng (Max) Bi

Northeastern University, Boston, USA

From the inception of life as a single cell to the complexity of a fully formed organism, embryonic tissues undergo extraordinary transformations to form essential organs. Similarly, adult organisms adapt continuously to mechanical forces at cellular and tissue levels, essential for maintaining vital life functions. This presentation examines the delicate interplay between cellular resilience to mechanical forces and their orchestrated movements—a process critical to both embryonic development and adult health.

In this talk, I will explore three pivotal aspects of this phenomenon: (1) By employing computational models aligned with principles of soft matter physics, we investigate shear-induced rigidity and the mechanisms underlying fluidity in epithelial tissues; (2) We delve into the complex interplay between external mechanical stresses and internal cellular dynamics, revealing a spectrum of rheological behaviors such as shear thinning and thickening—crucial for deciphering rheological responses under various physical conditions; (3) We scrutinize how cellular activities such as division and apoptosis impact tissue states, with a particular emphasis on the emergence of hexatic phases—an intermediate state that exhibits characteristics of both solids and liquids.