Title: Computational Models & Fundamental Principles of Epithelial Morphogenesis

Abstract: Epithelial tissues play a key role in development and disease as they shape organs and organisms, and are at the origin of most cancers. In my talk, I will discuss the principles of epithelial organisation at multiple scales. Starting out at a coarse scale, I will describe the self-organizing principles that guide the morphogenesis of epithelial trees, the backbone of many organs, via chemical signalling and mechanical constraints. In the second part of my talk, I will focus on the cellular organisation of epithelia. Using lightsheet microscopy, we have recently revealed the complex 3D shape of epithelial cells. The cellular organisation can be explained with simple physical theory, and the complex 3D shapes of epithelial cells and their nuclei can be quantitatively recapitulated with a physics-based 3D simulation framework, where we represent epithelial cells as deformable, polarised material. The data-based simulations can now be used to explore a wide range of epithelial processes in development and disease, and are particularly suited to situations where cells transition between an epithelial and mesenchymal state, a key step in development and cancer progression.

About Dagmar Iber: https://bsse.ethz.ch/cobi

Streaming link: https://youtu.be/tvOH7mMBWv0