Biomechanics

Develop models of how cells sense and transmit mechanical cues, linking deformable soft materials and cell interfaces to intracellular signalling and mechanosensitive calcium responses. The project is primarily computational, with opportunities to connect models to experiments. Join Vesna Bacheva’s research at the Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy, located within UMCG. Employment is full time for one year initially, with possible renewal for three further years. Applications close on 16 October 2026 at 23:59 Dutch local time.

Journal of Experimental Biology supports junior faculty who want to host a graduate student or postdoc for a new collaborative research visit of one to three months. Awards up to GBP 3,000 support the visitor’s travel and subsistence, not research costs. Apply by 27 November 2026 for travel after 4 January 2027. Projects must concern animal comparative physiology or biomechanics.

The Soft Robotics Lab seeks postdoctoral researchers working on compliant robotic systems, biohybrid actuators, dexterous manipulation, robot learning or embodied-AI simulation. Researchers will develop and experimentally validate systems, publish findings and co-supervise students. The full-time Zurich appointment starts with a one-year contract, renewable annually. Applications are reviewed as they arrive until 30 November 2026; the start date is negotiable.

Annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA, spanning research across integrative and comparative biology.

Reconstructing early hominin locomotion helps explain access to food, water, shelter and mates. This talk applies three-dimensional geometric morphometrics to functional variation in the primate postcranial skeleton. High-dimensional sliding semilandmarks, coherent point drift and weighted spherical harmonics capture external shape and internal structure, providing complementary descriptions of skeletal adaptation. Comparisons across living primates inform reconstructions of early hominin locomotor repertoires and the relationship between skeletal morphology and movement. QLS–CAMBAM hybrid seminar with Christine M. Harper (University of Washington), 2026-10-27, 12:00–13:00 Montréal time. Attend in person at 550 Sherbrooke, Room 189, McGill University, or follow the public Zoom link on the official event page. Open to the university community, including faculty, graduate and undergraduate students.

UCL Department of Neuroinflammation Seminar by Professor Emad Moeendarbary (Professor of Cell Mechanics and Mechanobiology, UCL Mechanical Engineering) on how biophysical factors such as substrate stiffness and axon geometry regulate oligodendrocyte behavior and myelin formation, presenting the AxoMetic in vitro myelination platform for discovery of remyelinating therapies.

Cryopreservation constrains manufacturing and clinical delivery of immune cells such as NK and T cells. DMSO protects against freezing but becomes toxic at physiological temperatures; associated infusion morbidity can require washing or divided dosing that diminishes therapeutic effectiveness. This talk presents an alternative in which reversible, cytocompatible hydrogels encapsulate cells before freezing without DMSO. The speaker examines evidence that encapsulation cushions osmotic stress, suppresses kinetic and phase transitions, and reduces injury caused by extracellular ice growth and fusion. The discussion covers recovery efficiency, function after thawing, control of biological stress responses, and the challenges of extending the approach to clinical-scale cell preservation.