Mechanics of the cell interface studied by model membrane systems
Palestrante: Dra. Margarita Staykova;
Instituição: Departments of Physics and Chemistry – Durham University (UK);
Resume: The cell interface is resilient, tunable and can easily adapt its surface area and morphology in response to changing conditions. I use simplified model systems of the cell interface and quantitative optical microscopy to understand how the physical properties of its constituents and their interactions give rise to such remarkable surface functionality. In this talk, I will discuss my recent findings on the ability of lipid membranes to deform and flow under mechanical perturbations and in the state of coupling to neighboring cell structures (cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix). The goals of my
experimental program are to shed light on the molecular and physical mechanisms of mechano-transduction in cells and to implement these principles in the design of mechanically responsive bio-interfaces for biological and biomedical applications.
Dr. Staykova finished her undergraduate studies in Biophysics at University of Sofia, Bulgaria. Shortly after, she went to Germany on a DAAD fellowship to do her PhD with Prof. J. Gimsa at the University of Rostock, where graduated in 2006. During that time she studied theoretically the interaction of high frequency electromagnetic fields with cellular media and in particular with lipid membranes.
As a postdoc in the group of Dr. R. Dimova at Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (Germany) she switched to an experimental project on the electro-manipulation of lipid vesicles. In 2009, she moved to Princeton University to the Complex Fluid Group of Prof. Howard A. Stone, where she laid the foundation of her current research on the biophysics of biological membranes. Since October 2013 she is a lecturer in her Departments of Physics and Chemistry at Durham University.
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