In multi-cellular organisms, cells must sense and respond to multiple cues for proper functioning within tissues. Although most experimental research has focused on the regulation of cellular processes by external chemical signals, there is increasing recognition that mechanical forces also impact on a wide variety of critical physiological and pathological cellular processes and functions, from cell proliferation and differentiation to tissue mass homeostasis, and cancer development and progression.

A burning open question is, therefore, how cells respond to forces and adapt to mechanical cues. In cancer development, for example, it is well established that the physical/mechanical nature of cancer cells and of cancer microenvironment are crucial determinants of disease progression.

This conference aims at bringing together biophysical and biomechanical expertise pioneered by the Mechanobiology Institute (MBI) in Singapore with the cancer cell biology expertise of IFOM scientists. Within this framework, we will be discussing:

• The impact of mechanotransduction on gene expression
• The complex interplay between cell-cell and cell-matrix communication
• The role played by cytoskeletal signalling on cellular homeostasis
• The influence of tissue mechanics and membrane dynamics on cancer development