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Mechanobiology of Disease
Welcome Letter
September 2016
Dear Colleagues,
We would like to welcome you to the Biophysical Society Thematic Meeting,
Mechanobiology of
Disease
, co-organized by the Mechanobiology Institute (MBI), National University of Singapore.
Over the past few years, mechanobiology has been instrumental in answering fundamental
biological questions. Excitingly, many researchers are now applying mechanobiology to
revolutionize our understanding of disease pathogenesis. Our understanding of how cells integrate
mechanics is now inspiring the design of new therapies and diagnostic tools.
At its core, mechanobiology is a truly interdisciplinary science. Although the core principles lie at
the interface between physics and biology, mechanobiology has benefited from contributions from
many other disciplines including engineering, developmental biology, virology, and computational
science. As a result, this meeting brings together a diverse group of world-leading scientists to
provide their international and multidisciplinary perspectives on the mechanobiology of disease.
The scientific program will have around 30 talks and 80 posters, providing a snapshot of the latest
research findings in the field. We have also allowed plenty of time for informal discussion and
networking during lunches, coffee breaks, and the banquet, and hope that this will enable a lively
exchange of ideas and inspire new research collaborations to dissect the mechanobiology of
cancer, infectious diseases, and many other disorders.
We would like to thank our sponsors Fisher Scientific, MERCK, Rexadvance, Nanyang
Technological University and The Company of Biologists for supporting this thematic meeting.
Finally, we hope you enjoy your visit to tropical Singapore and the unique professional and cultural
experiences offered by this little red dot!
Sincerely,
The Organizing Committee
Dino Di Carlo
Jochen Guck
Linda J Kenney
Chwee Teck Lim
Michael Sheetz
G.V. Shivashankar