Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM

Physicist Awarded Grant to Study Physical Cell Biology

Tuesday, June 16, 2015, By Rob Enslin
Share
College of Arts and SciencesResearch and Creative

A physicist in the College of Arts and Sciences has been awarded a major grant to study how the shape and motion of individual cells mold biological tissues into three-dimensional shapes.

M. Lisa Manning

M. Lisa Manning

M. Lisa Manning, associate professor of physics, is part of a trio of researchers who have received $168,750 from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Research Corp. for Science Advancement (RCSA) to explore untested ideas in physical cell biology. Their project, “Immersive DNA Force Sensors and Predictive Mechanical Modeling for Tissue Morphogenesis,” grew out of a research competition recently held at Biosphere 2 in Arizona.

Manning’s team includes Justin Kinney, assistant professor of biophysics at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and Margaret Gardel, assistant professor of physics at the University of Chicago.

“As we grow from a fertilized egg into a human being, our cells push and pull against one another, shaping our tissues, our organs and our bodies,” says Manning, who studies the mechanical behavior of biological cells. “Unfortunately, we don’t know much about these microscopic forces, both within and between cells, and how they enable large, multicellular structures, such as people, to develop.”

To address this complex phenomenon, she and her team have proposed an innovative method for measuring and modeling such forces in tissues. They plan to insert small “nanoprobes” of DNA into developing tissues to record where and when these forces occur. The team will also build predictive 3D computational models that will be directly tested with data from the new force probes—a first in the field of physical cell biology.

“Currently, there are methods for measuring forces in tissues along two-dimensional surfaces, but our proposal promises to enable such measurements in three dimensions,” says Manning, adding that principles of theoretical physics will inform much of the process. “It will provide a critical advance for understanding how three-dimensional structures, such as organs, are formed.”

The idea for the project was conceived during a March conference at Biosphere 2. The conference was part of a two-year Scialog program titled “Molecules Come to Life.” Scialog—a portmanteau word blending “science” and dialogue”–is a conference that fosters intensive discussions, team building and on-the-spot collaborations among early-career researchers.

Manning says she and her teammates worked intensely over several days to create an “original, blue-sky, high-risk” research proposal.

“We were one of five interdisciplinary teams awarded grants,” she says, adding that the conference included other early-career physicists, biologists and chemists. “By bringing together theorists and experimentalists, we are building a community of researchers that seek answers to important biological questions, while increasing our understanding of the physical biology of cells.”

  • Author

Rob Enslin

  • Recent
  • DPS Earns Accreditation From International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators
    Friday, June 6, 2025, By Kiana Racha
  • Rock Record Illuminates Oxygen History
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By Dan Bernardi
  • What Can Ancient Climate Tell Us About Modern Droughts?
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By News Staff
  • Blackstone LaunchPad Founders Circle Welcomes New Members
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By Cristina Hatem
  • Syracuse Stage Concludes 2024-25 Season With ‘The National Pastime’
    Wednesday, June 4, 2025, By Joanna Penalva

More In STEM

ECS Professor Pankaj K. Jha Receives NSF Grant to Develop Quantum Technology

Detecting single photons—the smallest unit of light—is crucial for advanced quantum technologies such as optical quantum computing, communication and ultra-sensitive imaging. Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are the most efficient means of detecting single photons and these detectors can count…

Rock Record Illuminates Oxygen History

Several key moments in Earth’s history help us humans answer the question, “How did we get here?” These moments also shed light on the question, “Where are we going?,” offering scientists deeper insight into how organisms adapt to physical and…

What Can Ancient Climate Tell Us About Modern Droughts?

Climate change is reshaping the global water cycle, disrupting rainfall patterns and putting growing pressure on cities and ecosystems. Some regions are grappling with heavier rainfall and flooding, while others face prolonged droughts that threaten public health, disrupt economies and…

University’s Dynamic Sustainability Lab and Ireland’s BiOrbic Sign MOU to Advance Markets for the Biobased Economy

This month at the All Island Bioeconomy Summit held in Co. Meath, Ireland, it was announced that BiOrbic, Research Ireland Centre for Bioeconomy, comprising 12 leading Irish research universities in Ireland, signed a joint memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Dynamic Sustainability…

Professor Bing Dong Named as the Traugott Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The College of Engineering and Computer Science has named Bing Dong as the Traugott Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. This endowed professorship is made possible by a 1998 gift from the late Fritz Traugott H’98 and his wife, Frances….

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.