Laureates of the interdisciplinary call 2018

Yohanns Bellaïche and Emmanuel Barillot (Institut Curie) - From tissue spatial transcriptomics to tissue mechanics | Our interdisciplinary project aims to bring together advanced methods in bioinformatics and physics to decipher how tissues acquire their shape during development, and thus can fulfill their function during adult life.

Vincent Colot and Vincent Hakim (ENS) - Epigenetics in slow motion: modeling the transgenerational progressivity of DNA methylation | This project aims to decipher, through quantitative experimental approaches and mathematical modeling, the molecular mechanisms underlying the progressive acquisition across generations of DNA methylation, a chromatin mark central to epigenetic control in plants and mammals.

Jean-Léon Maître (Institut Curie), Hervé Turlier (Collège de France) and Catherine Patrat (Institut Cochin) - The unique mechanics of human preimplantation morphogenesis | Successful implantation of human embryos relies on the formation of a structure called blastocyst. Using a combination of microscopy, biophysical tools and theoretical modelling, we will investigate the mechanical forces building the human blastocyst.

Judith Mine-Hattab (Institut Curie), Angela Taddei (Institut Curie), Thierry Mora (ENS) and Aleksandra Walczak (ENS) - The physics of repair and silencing foci | The nucleus of our cells contains membrane-less sub-compartments in which specific and essential functions are realized. The project aims to understand how these compartments are formed, combining cutting-edge microscopy and advanced theoretical analysis.

Chiara Zurzolo (Institut Pasteur) and Patricia Bassereau (Institut Curie) - Understanding the cell biology and biophysics of tunneling nanotubes (TNTs): mechanisms of formation and specific markers for their identification and function in vivo | Tunneling nanotubes are poorly characterized thin and fragile cell protrusions mediating intercellular communication in physiological and pathological conditions. We will combine cell biology and biophysics to study their formation and to identify markers and therapeutic targets.