Monday, March 23, 2015 (3:15 p.m. in Yost 306)

Title: Amoeboid Cell Migration: Recent Experiments and Proposed Modeling

Speaker: Wanda Strychalski (Assistant Professor, Case Western Reserve University MAMS Department)

Abstract: Amoeboid cell migration is required in many biological processes such as cancer metastasis and the function of the immune system. It is characterized by large shape changes, high actomyosin contractility, and pressure-driven flow of the cytoplasm. Little is known about the role of the cell-generated forces in amoeboid cell migration. In this talk, I will give an overview of cell migration and recent experiments that show the effects of perturbing the cytoskeleton on the traction stresses that cells exert on flat substrates. I will also discuss the mathematical modeling/computational framework that we will use to determine quantitative relationships between intracellular forces and experimental data such as traction stresses and migration speed.