Early Career Award for Biological Physics Research: Shaping living matter through mechanochemical feedback

Dynamics of living matter involve complex interplays between mechanical forces and biochemical signaling. However, the Integration of chemical signaling into physical models of active matter is challenging due to the complexity of the underlying interaction pathways. In this talk I will discuss our recent work on mechanochemical modeling of morphogenetic processes in cells that integrates theory with tractable biophysical measurements. First, I will present our work on mechanochemical patterning in cellular actin cortex, showing that the feedback loops between Rho-GTPase signaling and actomyosin contractility enable adaptive mechanical response and non-equilibrium dynamical behaviors observed in many physiological contexts, such as excitability, waves, and pulsatile contractions. I will then discuss how the feedback between actomyosin contractility and tension at cell-cell junctions promotes robust control of cell shapes, active topological transitions and solid-fluid transitions in tissues. Taken together, these studies provide concrete examples for how active biological systems couple physical forces with biochemical signaling for adaptive mechanical response.