Jennifer Young
Assistant Professor
Mechanobiology Institute
National University of Singapore

*In-person-only event!

ABSTRACT
Extracellular matrix cues regulate a multitude of cellular functions, from differentiation to tissue homeostasis. During aging, the extracellular matrix undergoes substantial changes in its composition, architecture, and mechanical properties, yet how these changes contribute to age-associated cellular dysfunction remains incompletely understood. Our work focuses on defining how age-related matrix remodeling alters cell behavior and developing experimental approaches to disentangle the biochemical and mechanical contributions of the extracellular environment. This talk will highlight our studies of extracellular matrix mechanobiology across aging tissues, together with biomaterial platforms that recapitulate key matrix properties in vitro at the micro- and nanoscale. By combining measurements of native tissue mechanics with highly defined engineered microenvironments, we aim to uncover mechanisms through which the aging matrix regulates cell and tissue function and identify opportunities for matrix-based therapeutic strategies.
 
BIO
Jennifer Young was trained as a biomedical engineer at the University of California, San Diego. During her Ph.D. with Prof. Adam Engler, she studied the role of mechanics in cardiac development and created a hydrogel system capable of mimicking dynamic tissue properties in vitro. Inspired by the role of extracellular matrix in dictating cell behavior and fate, she joined the Cellular Biophysics group of Prof. Joachim Spatz at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research to study how nanoscale extracellular matrix cues regulate cancer cell function. She established the Soft Nano-Biomaterials Lab in 2021 at the Mechanobiology Institute and Biomedical Engineering Department, National University of Singapore where her work focuses on identifying and mimicking nano-to-microscale matrix properties and unraveling their contributions to cellular behavior.

Andrés García - faculty host