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Alfred E.Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering - Seminar series

Speaker: Chwee Teck Lim, NUS Society Chair Professor National University of Singapore, Singapore

Talk Title: From Cells to Tissues: Collective Dynamics of Multicellular Assemblies

Abstract: Collective multicellular migration plays a vital role in processes such as embryonic development, wound healing, epithelial maintenance, and cancer metastasis. Unlike isolated cells, cell cohorts exhibit coordinated behaviors influenced by their physical and geometrical environments. Understanding these collective dynamics is essential not only for advancing fundamental biology, but also for engineering applications involving living systems. In this talk, I will present our recent works on the migration of epithelial cell sheets under well-defined mechanical and geometrical constraints. Using custom-designed platforms, we investigate how cells migrate across both flat and curved substrates, including microtubes that mimic physiologically relevant topographies. These studies reveal how mechanical features such as confinement and curvature affect collective migration patterns, including alignment, force generation, and directional persistence. Our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how multicellular systems respond to external cues and have important implications for the design of biohybrid systems—integrated platforms that combine living cells with engineered components. Such insights can inform the development of biomaterials and scaffolds that promote desired cell behaviors, enhancing outcomes in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and biomedical device design. This work bridges cell biology and engineering, offering new directions for building adaptive, multiscale living systems.

Biography: Professor Chwee Teck Lim is the NUSS Chair Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Director of the Institute for Health Innovation and Technology at the National University of Singapore. He is also the Founding Director of the Singapore Health Technologies Consortium, a national initiative.  He conducts research in human disease mechanobiology and develops innovative medical technologies for healthcare applications. Prof Lim has co-authored over 500 journal articles and delivered over 530 invited talks.  He is also a serial entrepreneur having cofounded six startups with one IPO in 2018.  Prof Lim is globally recognized for his distinguished achievements by the over 100 research awards and honors including the Nature Lifetime Achievement Award for Mentoring in Science, Highly Cited Researcher, Asia’s Most Influential Scientist Award, ASEAN Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award, Asian Scientists 100, Credit Suisse Technopreneur of the Year Award, Wall Street Journal Asian Innovation Award and the President's Technology Award. He is also an Elected Fellow of 9 academies including the UK Royal Society, US National Academy of Inventors, IUPESM, IAMBE, AIMBE, ASEAN Academy of Engineering and Technology, Singapore National Academy of Science and Academy of Engineering, Singapore. 

Host: Peter Yingxiao Wang- Chair of Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering

Location: Corwin D. Denney Research Center (DRB) - 145

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Carla Stanard

This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor.

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