Topic Name: Study of morphogenesis in living structures using image analysis, geometrical quantification, and theoretical modeling.
Admissions in IIT Bombay for: January 2023
Programs : (1) Civil Engineering, (2) Physics, or (3) Nanotechnology and Science (NT) {Centre for Research in Nanotechnology & Science (CRNTS)}
Abstract: The Form of a structure is comprised of its shape, size, internal configuration, and texture. Morphogenesis means the origin of form and involves the study of how living systems get their shape in response to their designed function. Epithelial tissues are important biophysical structures that are formed by a group of connected living cells. In this project, we will investigate how spherical epithelial tissues lose their initial shape symmetry and undergo morphological changes as a result of phenomena occurring at sub-cellular and cellular scales. At the implementation level, the project has three components. The first step involves analyzing the experimental images of tissues from our French collaborator using cutting-edge tools in image analysis and machine learning. The second step involves theoretical quantification of tissue deformation from these analyzed images using tools from computational geometry. The final step is developing a computational model to get a deeper understanding of these experimental findings and predict the mechanical behavior of the tissues. In summary, the goal of this inter-disciplinary, Indo-French project, which is at the interface of structural engineering, physics, and biology, is a theoretical investigation of epithelial morphogenesis in close synergy with experiments.
Proposed Supervisors
1. Mandar M. Inamdar, Civil Engineering
2. Raghunath Chelakkot, Physics Department
French Collaborator
1. Daniel Riveline, University of Strasbourg, France
Successful candidate would get to spend one month in Prof. Riveline lab in France.
How to Apply
Contacts for inquiry:
* Mandar M. Inamdar: minamdar@iitb.ac.in
* Raghunath Chelakkot: raghu@phy.iitb.ac.in