Research

Research in the Manning group follows two interconnected thrusts: Collective behavior in biological tissues and deformation in disordered solids. Click sub topic headings below for additional detail.

Organogenesis during development

  • Dynamic forces generated by tissue drag
  • Interfering with myosin via an optically released drug
  • Personnel:
    • Rajendra Singh Negi
    • Raj Kumar Manna
    • Jeff Amack Lab (SUNY Upstate)
    • Heidi Hehnly Lab (SU)

Predicting dissipation and flow in non-Hamiltonian active disordered solids

  • Systems with pressure gradients
  • Active Rods that cannot be mapped to a Hamiltonian system
  • Personnel:
    • Tyler Hain
    • Julia Giannini
    • Adil Ghaznavi
    • Edan Lerner (U. Amsterdam)

Placode Formation and Homeostasis in Stratified Epithelia

  • Placode Formation
  • Homeostasis and delamination
  • Personnel
    • Elizabeth Lawson-Keister
    • Somiealo Azote
    • Sara Wickstrom Lab (Muenster)
    • Carien Niessen Lab (Cologne)

Yielding in Glassy and Active Matter

  • Is the yielding transition brittle in dense active matter?
  • Structural elasto-plastic models for yielding
  • Spatio-temporal dynamics of avalanches in particle-based and elasto-plastic models
  • Structural indicators as a function of packing fraction
  • Personnel
    • Adil Ghaznavi
    • Cam Dennis
    • David Richard

Emergent mechanics in tissues composed of stellate mesenchymal cells

  • Developing new models for tissues with star-like cell shapes and large gaps between cells
  • A new, bioinspired type of active metamaterial : fluid under tension
  • Personnel
    • Alex Grigas
    • Ale Mongera (UCL)

Characterizing and designing second-order rigid materials

  • Designing mechanical metamaterials by sculpting the critical manifold in fiber networks
  • Parameterizing the critical manifold of vertex models for biological tissues
  • Making real mechanical networks with torsional springs
  • Personnel
    • Tyler Hain
    • Kelly Aspinwall
    • Chris Santangelo (SU)

Demixing and cell sorting in particle-based and vertex models

  • Does differential diffusivity drive demixing in particle-based or vertex models?
  • Cell sorting and boundaries in 3D vertex models due to heterotypic tension
  • Do differential cell shapes drive sorting in vertex models
  • Personnel
    • Erin McCarthy
    • Raj Kumar Manna

Physical Learning in Biological Tissues

  • Can we use physical learning to fluidize a tissue?
  • Comparing proposed mechanisms for germband extension in Drosophila using a physical learning framework
  • Cell differentiation patterning via surface receptors (Notch-Delta)
  • Personnel
    • Sadjad Arzash
    • Kelly Aspinwall
    • Andrea Liu (UPenn)