| Description | We are pleased to welcome Taeyoon Kim, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University for a UW ME seminar on Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022 at 3:30pm PT. About the seminar:
Actin cytoskeleton is a dynamic structural scaffold used by eukaryotic cells to provide mechanical integrity and resistance to deformation, while simultaneously remodeling itself and adapting to diverse extracellular stimuli. The actin cytoskeleton utilizes these properties to play crucial roles in essential cellular processes such as cell migration and division. However, despite its known mechanical role in cell behaviors, a clear understanding of the mechanical properties of actin cytoskeleton and the molecular origin of these properties is still lacking, partly due to experimental limitations. Computer simulations can access time and length scales inaccessible by experiments, and thus aid in creating a descriptive model of the molecular interactions that evolve into the mechanical properties observed on cellular scales. To this end, we have developed a cutting-edge computational model designed to reproduce the mechanical and dynamic behaviors of actin cytoskeleton within cells. Guided by explicit experimental data, we systematically explored, via simulation, how the mechanics and dynamics of actins and actin-binding proteins determine the deformation, flow, and stiffness of the passive actin cytoskeleton. We also investigated how interactions between the passive cytoskeletal constituents and active molecular motors lead to force generation, contraction, and morphological changes in the active actin cytoskeleton. About the speaker:
Dr. Taeyoon Kim received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Seoul National University in 2004. He then received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2007 and 2010, respectively. He held a postdoctoral position in the Institute for Biophysical Dynamics at the University of Chicago until 2013. At Purdue University, Dr. Kim is the principal investigator of the Molecular, Cellular and Tissue (MCT) Biomechanics Laboratory, which studies diverse mechanical behaviors of biological matter, using cutting-edge computational models that span subcellular levels to the cell and tissue levels. Please use your UW NetID to log into Zoom if you plan to view the talk remotely.
This seminar is part of the ME Research Seminar Series and qualifies for ME520 credit for enrolled students.
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