Session: Rising Stars of Mechanical Engineering Celebration & Showcase

Paper Number: 147938

147938 - Mechanoepigenetics: The Chromatin in the Cell Nucleus as a Mediator Between the Mechanical Forces and the Biological Phenotype 

The research conducted in the Cellular Engineering and Mechanobiology Lab, led by PI Dr. Soham Ghosh, is dedicated to uncovering fundamental mechanisms within the cell nucleus. These discoveries promise to revolutionize our comprehension of the onset and progression of various degenerative diseases. Many pathological conditions stem from an abnormal mechanical environment within the body's tissues. Maintaining optimal mechanical forces within tissues is crucial for cellular functionality and health. Our research program seeks to elucidate how the mechanical environment, whether healthy or pathological, influences cellular and tissue structure and function through chromatin remodeling—an emerging 'epigenetic' determinant of gene expression within the nucleus.

This understanding holds immense potential for developing new therapeutic strategies to combat a wide array of degenerative diseases, including aging associated tissue damage and cancer, and to enhance the scalability of stem cell therapy. Our research endeavors to uncover how mechanical forces such as tensile stretching, stiffness, and gravitational forces at the tissue level reach the intranuclear space to remodel chromatin and regulate gene expression. Leveraging high-resolution single-cell microscopy, expertise in mechanics, advanced image analysis techniques, and molecular biology tools, we aim to address several pressing questions in biomechanics and mechanobiology.

Our program focuses on several applications: (1) Investigating how mechanical forces, like tensile stretching, drive tissue degeneration and exploring interventions for treating conditions such as lung and heart fibrosis; (2) Understanding the mechanisms underlying tissue loss in astronauts and bedridden patients; (3) Optimizing mechanical priming of stem cells to enhance therapeutic outcomes post-transplantation; and (4) Unraveling how cancer cells exploit the local mechanical environment to proliferate, grow, and migrate.

From uncovering basic biomechanical mechanisms to applying this knowledge to improve human health, our program is driven by a mission to make impactful discoveries that advance healthcare and enhance quality of life.

Presenting Author: Soham Ghosh Colorado State University

Presenting Author Biography: Dr. Soham Ghosh is an assistant professor at the Colorado State University Department of Mechanical Engineering. He is also a core faculty of the C. Wayne McIlwraith Translational Medicine Institute, School of Biomedical Engineering and the Program in Cell and Molecular Biology. He directs the Cellular Engineering and Mechanobiology Lab, located at the Translational Medicine Institute.

Dr. Ghosh received his BS and MS degrees in India, and subsequently received his PhD from Purdue University in Mechanical Engineering, where he was selected as a Lambert fellow. He started his faculty position at Colorado State University after a postdoctoral research tenure at University of Colorado Boulder. He is a recipient of several accolades including the NSF CAREER award and the outstanding faculty award bestowed by the Colorado State University School of Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Ghosh has served on NSF and NIH panels as a reviewer and regularly reviews for many professional journals including ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, Nature Communications, Biophysical Journal, Scientific Reports etc. Dr. Ghosh published his work in reputed journals such as Cell Reports, Nature Biomedical Engineering, Small, ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, Biophysical Journal etc. His group regularly presents their research findings in the most visible conferences by professional Societies such as ASME and BMES.

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