Madhav Mani Physical biology of organisms

Research Interests

This is an exciting time to be studying organismal development. In spite of the progress in molecular biology built up over the last 3 decades, we are still searching for the mechanisms that couple the chemical and physical forms of organism. A misshaped hand, even with the right proportions of different cell types, wouldn't be of much use in gripping a cup of coffee. What are the collective cellular and tissue level mechanisms that generate the complex multicellular patterns of cellular differentiation and morphology in organisms? Recent advances in live fluorescent imaging provide us with a dynamic and spatially resolved view of organismal development, and what is needed now is the development of mathematical tools and models that can help ushering in a new, and physical, understanding of organismal biology. Complementing my group's interest in developmental biology is our study of gene regulation. In particular, we focus on stochastic and biophysical aspects of gene expression dynamics within the context of developmental systems.

In close collaboration with experimental labs around the world, my group develops quantitative image-analysis tools and mathematical models that guide the construction of inverse modeling schemes to make new and better measurements of live imaging data. When required, forward mathematical models are constructed to make sense of emergent phenomena, and more importantly, to generate predictions and hypotheses that guide future experimentation.

Selected Publications

Collective polarization model for gradient sensing via Dachsous-Fat intercellular signaling. Mani M, Goyal S, Irvine KD, and Shraiman BI. PNAS. 2013 December 17;110(51):20420-20425.

Principles of E-Cadherin Supramolecular Organization In Vivo. Truong Quang B-A, Mani M, Markova O, Lecuit T, and Lenne P-F. Current Biology. 2013 November 18;23(22):2197-2207.

Propagation of Dachsous-Fat Planar Cell Polarity. Ambegaonkar AA, Pan G, Mani M, Feng Y, and Irvine KD. Current Biology. 2012 July 24;22(14):1302-1308.

How Things Get Stuck: Kinetics, Elastohydrodynamics, and Soft Adhesion. Mani M, Gopinath A, and Mahadevan L. Physical Review Letters. 2012 June 1;108(22):226104.

Physical ageing of the contact line on colloidal particles at liquid interfaces. Kaz DM, McGorty R, Mani M, Brenner MP, and Manoharan VN. Nature Materials. 2012 February;11(2):138-142.

View all publications by Madhav Mani listed in the National Library of Medicine (PubMed).