How tissue stiffness influences cell differentiation potential.
Project Summary:
My project focuses on understanding the relationship between tissue stiffness in the Neuromesodermal progenitor (NMPs) region of developing chicken embryos, and the decision these progenitors make to become neural or mesodermal. I hypothesis that a differential stiffness gradient from anterior to posterior is upstream of signal mediated differentiation. Using atomic force microscopy and a newly developed tissue force microscope I am mapping out the stiffness environment these cells are found in. Furthermore, I am performing in vitro and in vivo perturbations to test NMPs response to changes in stiffness.
