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SUMMARY:MechE Colloquium: Mechanomicrobiology: how bacteria sense and resp
 ond to forces
DTSTART:20220315T120000
DTEND:20220315T130000
DTSTAMP:20260506T231759Z
UID:56d4f57069b78f1f547e3ee4336f44f588b7abb4318b94dee407c0ee
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Alexandre Persat\, Microbial Mechanics Lab (Persat Lab)\
 , Global Health Institute (GHI)\, School of Life Sciences (SV)\, EPFL\nFac
 e masks are recommended for in-person attendance in MED 0 1418.\n\nAbstrac
 t: Microbes have evolved to thrive in virtually any terrestrial and marine
  environments\, exposing them to a variety of mechanical cues including th
 e ones generated by contact with surfaces and fluid flow. Bacteria have ce
 llular components allowing them to progress with - or against - these forc
 es. Deploying these systems when sensing relevant physical cues optimizes 
 their function\, ultimately improving bacterial fitness. Owing to newly de
 veloped biophysical techniques\, we are now starting to appreciate the bre
 adth of bacterial phenotypes influenced by mechanical inputs: adhesion\, m
 otility\, biofilm formation and even pathogenicity. In this presentation\,
  I will try survey the various physical forces bacteria experience in thei
 r natural environments and describe the structures that transmit these for
 ces to a cell. We then discuss how forces can be transduced by dedicated c
 ellular machinery to regulate diverse phenotypes including virulence and m
 otility. Finally\, I will provide a perspective on how mechanics influence
  the biogenesis of multicellular structures known as biofilms.\n\nBiograph
 y: Alex is an Assistant Professor at the EPFL Global Health Institute and 
 the Institute for Bioengineering. He obtained his BSc at Ecole Polytechniq
 ue\, Paris and his MSc and PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford Unive
 rsity\, USA. After a postdoc in the department of Molecular Biology at Pri
 nceton University\, USA\, he started his lab at EPFL where he combines eng
 ineering and microbiological approaches to understand how bacteria sense\,
  respond and adapt to their mechanical environment. His multidisciplinary 
 approach and novel technologies provide a deeper understanding of microbia
 l physiology\, ecology and infectious diseases.
LOCATION:MED 0 1418 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==MED%200%201418 https://epf
 l.zoom.us/j/67275071152
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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