Sylvain was trained as a polymer physico-chemist with a focus on the dynamics of confined polymer chains. He changed his field to cell mechanobiology after his PhD and joined the Aix Marseille University (France) as a CNRS postdoctoral fellow. He worked with Olivier Théodoly to study the deformation of deformed immune cells squeezed in microfluidic devices. Then he joined the Kevin Kit Parker’s lab at Harvard University (USA) to work on neuronal mechanics with magnetic tweezers. He is fascinated by integrative tissue dynamics, cytoskeletal mechanics and nuclear mechanotransduction. He started his group at the University of Mons (Belgium) in 2011 and was appointed Associate Professor in 2016. He was invited visiting Professor in the Beth Pruitt’s lab at Stanford University (USA) in 2017 and is now President of the Research Institute for Biosciences at the University of Mons.

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Chargée de Recherches FNRS

Marine has developed photopolymerized corrugated hydrogels to investigate the role of the substrate curvature in the remodeling of the cytoskeletal architecture, with a particular interest for mechanosensitive proteins and nuclear deformations.
> internship in the Discher’s lab at UPENN (USA) > Postdoc research associate in Aurélien Roux lab (Geneva, Switzerland)

Postdoctoral Researcher (Win2Wal project)

Marie reproduces the complex architecture of complex tissues such as the skin with 3D soft hydrogels of precise and controlled physico-chemical properties. She has a strong interest in the dynamics of epithelial tissues and nuclear mechanics.

Chargée de Recherches FNRS at ULB

Danahe is affiliated to the Laboratory of Neurovascular Signaling of the University Libre de Brussels, under the supervision of Prof Maud Martin. She works on the role of microtubules in endothelial cell morphogenesis using MT targeting agents.

FRIA PhD Researcher

Yohalie’s research focus is nuclear squeezing during confined cancer cell migration. She would like to determine why metastatic breast cells migrate faster than their healthy counterpart. To this aim, Yohalie studies how confinement influences ATP consumption and chromatin compaction.
> internship in the Einar Hallberg’s lab at Stockholm (Sweden)

FNRS Research Fellow Collaboration with Prof Mathieu Surin

Alexandre would like to understand whether changing the chirality of the extracellular matrix proteins can modulate cellular functions. His long-term goal is to understand how molecular and supramolecular chirality can affect integrin-based mechanotransduction mechanisms involved in cell migration.

FNRS Research Fellow Collaboration with Prof Mathieu Surin

Maxime works on the development of DNA-based supramolecular responsive hydrogels for studying cell mechanobiology.

FRIA PhD Researcher Collaboration with Prof Patrick Flammang.

Amandine studies the locomotion of sea stars by using evanescent waves to detect sticking tube feet. By recording the sea star movement, she quantifies the sticking tube feet dynamics, important morphological parameters and measure the sea star locomotion speed.
> Internship in the Stanislas Gorb’s lab at Kiel (Germany)

FRIA PhD Researcher

Lucie studies how the physico-chemical properties of the tumor cell microenvironment can affect their migration and proliferation. To this aim, Lucie develops 2D and 3D viscoelastic matrices based on photoreticulated Gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) hydrogels. > Internship in the Pierre Nassoy’s lab at Bordeaux (France)

Collaboration with Prof Philippe Leclère

Quynh investigates the mechanical properties of soft biomaterials with Atomic Force Microscopy. She finely modulates the viscous and elastic parts of synthetic and natural hydrogels to mimic the rheological properties of the viscoelastic cell microenvironment, which helps us to better understand the role of the matrix mechanics on cell fate.

FRIA candidate

Zoé studies the collective behaviour of epithelial cells on corrugated hydrogels to determine how changes of local curvature can affect the collective migration of epithelial monolayers. She plays with different physico-chemical properties of hydrogels (stiffness, local curvature, etc.) to examine the role of the matrix properties on cell locomotion and the impact of the cell matrix properties on Erk wave propagation.

PhD Researcher (Win2Wal project)

As a bioengineer, Roxane aims to design hydrogel-based scaffolds to create advanced in vitro 3D human skin models. To this aim, Roxane develops photo-crosslinked gelatin hydrogels (GelMA) with complex physico-chemical properties.

Visiting PhD student (Glasgow University)

Giuseppe visits our lab to work on cell mechanobiology using viscoelastic hydrogels. Giuseppe systematically investigates the impact of substrate stress relaxation on cell migration using viscoelastic hydrogels that mimic the complex rheological behaviour of many biological tissues which are soft and viscoelastic, exhibiting stress relaxation over time in response to a deformation.

Collab with Prof Stephanos Konstantinidis

Vincent is interested in the development of nanotopographical surfaces for studying the mechanoresponse of migrating cells.

PhD Thesis in 2022 (FRIA)

> Currently postdoctoral associate in the Saudou’s lab at GINS (France)

PhD Thesis in 2022 (FRIA)

> Internship in the Xavier Trepat’s lab at IMEC (Spain)

PhD Thesis in 2019 (FRIA)

> Internship in the Jan Lammerding’s lab at Cornell University (USA)

PhD Thesis in 2019 (FRIA)

> Internship in the Pascal Silberzan’s group at Institut Curie (France)

PhD Thesis in 2018 (FRIA)

> Internship in the Guillaume Charras’ group at UCLondon (UK) > Visiting in the Beth Pruitt’s lab at Stanford University (USA) > Postdoc in the David Weitz’s lab at Harvard University (USA) > Postdoc in the David Alsteen’s lab at UCLouvain (Belgium)

PhD Thesis in 2017 (FRIA)

> Internship in the Stephanie Lacour’s lab at EPFL (Switzerland)

> Internship in the Blaise Yvert’s lab at CEA Grenoble (France)

> PhD Thesis in 2015 (FNRS)

> Internship in the Paul Jamey’s group at UPENN (USA)

PhD Thesis in 2014 (FRIA)

> Internship in the Atef Asnacios’ lab at MSC (Paris)

> Postdoc in the Kevin Kit Parker’s lab at Harvard University (USA)

Master Thesis in 2021

> Internship in the Olivier Théodoly’s lab at Aix-Marseille University (France)

Master Thesis in 2017

> Internship in the Adam Feinberg’s group at Carnegie-Mellon University (USA)

Master Thesis in 2015

> Internship in the David Kaplan’s lab at Tufts University (USA)

Master Thesis in 2014

> Internship in the Kristian Franze’s group at Cambridge (UK)

> PhD Thesis in the Theodoly’s lab (FR)

Master Thesis in 2013

> Internship in the Dufour’s group at Institut Curie (France) apparaît ici

Visiting scientist from the Kevin Kit Parker’s lab at Harvard University (USA)

Visiting from Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon (France)