Neurophotonics and Mechanical Systems Biology
Prof. Dr. Michael Krieg
- Activities:
Our main research goal is to understand the importance of cell mechanical properties for health and disease on the molecular and systems level. Mechanical forces are ubiquitous signals that provide information about our environments and our own body during touch and as we walk, breathe, and fall in love. Although failures to sense and cope with mechanical forces are linked to human diseases including peripheral neuropathies and neurodegenerative disorders, little is known about the connections between biomechanics and disease. One reason for this gap is the technical challenge of detecting forces and the deformations resulting from them within a living cell or organism. To fill this gap and advance our understanding, we develop and deploy new optogenetic tools (FRET, synthetic biology and genetic code expansion) to measure piconewton force and their consequences inside cells. From these data and informed by theoretical predictions, we derive insight and mechanistic understanding of how changes in protein and cell mechanics contribute to pathological transformations in mechanosensation and protection.
Due to the wealth of genetic tools available for it, we use the small round worm, Caenorhabditis elegans, with its compact nervous system consisting of only 302 neurons, its short lifespan and simple body plan, as a model. We exploit microfluidic and nanotechnological tools to apply precise forces to single cells or animals. Simultaneously we visualize mechanical forces and their consequences using optogenetic stress sensors and state-of-the-art microscopy.
We are hiring: PhD-students in Neuronal Cell Biology. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further information.
- Position(s) Available:
- Research Engineer position in Mechanical Systems Biology
- Post- doctoral position in Advanced Microscopy
- Post-doctoral position in Optogenetics and reconstruction of neuronal circuits
- Research Topics:
- Towards A Unifying Principle Of Mechanosensation
- Mechanical Stress In Neurodegeneration
- Engineering A Prosthetic Cellular Communication System
- Links:
- Group homepage
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Neurophotonics and Mechanical Systems Biology
Prof. Dr. Michael Krieg
- Group Leader
- Prof. Dr. Michael Krieg
- Postdoctoral Researchers
- Dr. Frederic Català Castro
- Dr. Ravi Das
- Dr. Adriana González
- Dr. Shadi Karimi
- Dr. Aleksandra Pidde
- Dr. Montserrat Porta
- PhD Students
- Lynn Lin
- Nawaphat Malaiwong
- Neus Sanfeliu
- Undergrad & Postgrad Students
- Lorena Puhl
- Former Group Members
- Marta Dies, Postdoctoral researcher
- Tihomir Georgiev, Postdoctoral researcher
- Martina Rita Mocera, PhD student
Neurophotonics and Mechanical Systems Biology
Prof. Dr. Michael Krieg
- Regular Papers
- The nucleus measures shape changes for cellular proprioception to control dynamic cell behavior Science 370, eaba2644 (2020) Highlighted in Science
- Cortical anchoring of the microtubule cytoskeleton is essential for neuron polarity eLife 9, e55111 (2020)
- Neuronal stretch reception – Making sense of the mechanosense Experimental Cell Research 378, 104-112 (2019)
- Direction selectivity in drosophila proprioceptors requires the mechanosensory channel Tmc Current Biology 29, 945-956.e3 (2019)
- Rationally designed azobenzene photoswitches for efficient two-photon neuronal excitation Nature Commun. 10, 907 (2019)
- Atomic force microscopy-based mechanobiology Nat. Rev. Phys. 1, 51-57 (2018)
- Genetic defects in ß-spectrin and tau sensitize C. elegans axons to movement-induced damage via torque-tension coupling eLife 6, (2017)
- Pneumatic stimulation of C. elegans mechanoreceptor neurons in a microfluidic trap Lab Chip 17, 1116-1127 (2017)
Neurophotonics and Mechanical Systems Biology
Prof. Dr. Michael Krieg
- 2020-10-16 When feeling the pinch, nuclei instigate cells to escape crowded spaces Scientists from CRG, ICFO, FH OÖ and UPF report on this new finding in a study published in the journal Science.
- 2018-11-21 A Review on Mechanobiology in Nature Reviews in Physics The review presented by ICFO Prof. Michael Krieg, in collaboration with an international team of researchers, provides an in-depth view and current status of the field of study
- 2017-05-17 NEW GROUP LEADER Dr. Michael Krieg joins ICFO to start a new group focusing on Neurophotonics and Mechanical Systems Biology
