The MPI-CBG employs a multidisciplinary approach to understand the basic mechanisms behind fundamental processes like cell division, adhesion, polarity, cell-cell interactions, cytoplasmic organization, intracellular transport, and membrane trafficking. In addition to studying living organisms, we work with reconstituted systems in a petri dish made up from key components, such as molecules or cells. This approach allows us to explore how complex behaviors arise from their interactions.
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We take a physics-based approach to biological questions to unravel principles that underlie the self-organization of living matter. Of key interest are the mechanisms by which structure and form arise in biological systems. Combining experiments with theory, we focus on how chemistry and mechanics interact to generate self-organized patterns. We bridge the gap between the molecular and tissue scales, and uncover the biophysical principles that underlie structure forming processes in living systems across scales.
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Living systems are complex and multiscale. At the MPI-CBG, we develop new mathematical approaches, including topological data analysis, computational algebra and metric geometry, as well as novel computational methods and artificial intelligence (AI) applications to extract structure and meaning from the vast amount of data available. This enables a quantitative understanding of the emergence of dynamics, structure, and function in living systems.
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We are studying complex biological and biophysical processes in living organisms and in re-engineered tissues outside of the living body by developing and growing organoids in a petri dish. We combine classical animal models with organoids, three-dimensional structures that resemble organs ex vivo, with the ultimate goal of studying the underlying molecular and cellular principles driving development and regeneration as well as diseases and their causes. This knowledge holds the potential to inform future organ-specific therapies.
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