Recent Publications

Research Publications

W. C. Drennan et al., “A forward-engineered muscle tissue driven soft robotic swimmer,” Feb. 15, 2025, bioRxiv. doi: 10.1101/2024.10.30.621139.
B. Emon, M. S. H. Joy, W. C. Drennan, and M. T. A. Saif, “A multifunctional sensor for cell traction force, matrix remodeling and biomechanical assays in self-assembled 3D tissues in vitro,” Nat Protoc, pp. 1–29, Jan. 2025, doi: 10.1038/s41596-024-01106-8.

B. Emon et al., “Nuclear deformation regulates YAP dynamics in cancer associated fibroblasts,” Acta Biomaterialia, vol. 173, pp. 93–108, Jan. 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2023.11.015.
O. Aydin, K. Hirashima, and M. T. A. Saif, “Incorporating Geometric Nonlinearity in Theoretical Modeling of Muscle-Powered Soft Robotic Bio-Actuators,” Journal of Applied Mechanics, vol. 91, no. 011008, Aug. 2023, doi: 10.1115/1.4063146.
W. C. Drennan et al., “A fast, muscle-actuated biohybrid swimming robot,” Nov. 03, 2024, bioRxiv. doi: 10.1101/2024.10.30.621139.
R. Mestre, A. M. Astobiza, V. A. Webster-Wood, M. Ryan, and M. T. A. Saif, “Ethics and responsibility in biohybrid robotics research,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 121, no. 31, p. e2310458121, Jul. 2024, doi: 10.1073/pnas.2310458121.
M. M. Eikanger et al., “Veratridine, a plant-derived alkaloid, suppresses the hyperactive Rictor-mTORC2 pathway: a new targeted therapy for primary and metastatic colorectal cancer,” Res Sq, p. rs.3.rs-5199838, Oct. 2024, doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5199838/v1.

M. S. H. Joy et al., “Synapses without tension fail to fire in an in vitro network of hippocampal neurons,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 120, no. 52, p. e2311995120, Dec. 2023, doi: 10.1073/pnas.2311995120.
K. Y. Lee, J. S. Rhodes, and M. T. A. Saif, “Astrocyte-mediated Transduction of Muscle Fiber Contractions Synchronizes Hippocampal Neuronal Network Development,” Neuroscience, vol. 515, pp. 25–36, Apr. 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2023.01.028.
B. Emon, Y. J. Song, M. S. H. Joy, M. V. Kovour, K. V. Prasanth, and M. T. A. Saif, “Mechanosensitive changes in the expression of genes in colorectal cancer-associated fibroblasts,” Sci Data, vol. 10, no. 1, p. 350, Jun. 2023, doi: 10.1038/s41597-023-02233-9.
B. Emon and M. T. A. Saif, “A window into solid stresses within tumours,” Nat. Biomed. Eng, vol. 7, no. 11, pp. 1348–1349, Nov. 2023, doi: 10.1038/s41551-023-01121-2.
X. Zhang et al., “Mind In Vitro Platforms: Versatile, Scalable, Robust, and Open Solutions to Interfacing with Living Neurons,” Advanced Science, vol. 11, no. 11, p. 2306826, 2024, doi: 10.1002/advs.202306826.

U. Doha, O. Aydin, M. S. H. Joy, B. Emon, W. Drennan, and M. T. A. Saif, “Disorder to order transition in cell-ECM systems mediated by cell-cell collective interactions,” Acta Biomaterialia, vol. 154, pp. 290–301, Dec. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2022.10.012.
Z. Li et al., “Adaptive biohybrid pumping machine with flow loop feedback,” Biofabrication, vol. 14, no. 2, p. 025009, Feb. 2022, doi: 10.1088/1758-5090/ac4d19.
Y. Wang, Z. Li, M. Elhebeary, R. Hensel, E. Arzt, and M. T. A. Saif, “Water as a ‘glue’: Elasticity-enhanced wet attachment of biomimetic microcup structures,” Science Advances, vol. 8, no. 12, p. eabm9341, Mar. 2022, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abm9341.
O. Aydin et al., “Principles for the design of multicellular engineered living systems,” APL Bioengineering, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 010903, Mar. 2022, doi: 10.1063/5.0076635.
Q. Yang et al., “Ecoresorbable and bioresorbable microelectromechanical systems,” Nat Electron, vol. 5, no. 8, pp. 526–538, Aug. 2022, doi: 10.1038/s41928-022-00791-1.

Z. Li et al., “A portable pen-sized instrumentation to measure stiffness of soft tissues in vivo,” Sci Rep, vol. 11, no. 1, p. 378, Jan. 2021, doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-79735-8.
B. Emon, Z. Li, M. S. H. Joy, U. Doha, F. Kosari, and M. T. A. Saif, “A novel method for sensor-based quantification of single/multicellular force dynamics and stiffening in 3D matrices,” Science Advances, vol. 7, no. 15, p. eabf2629, Apr. 2021, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abf2629.
M. A. B. Emon et al., “Dose-independent threshold illumination for non-invasive time-lapse fluorescence imaging of live cells,” Extreme Mech Lett, vol. 46, p. 101249, Jul. 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.eml.2021.101249.
A. P. Passaro, O. Aydin, M. T. A. Saif, and S. L. Stice, “Development of an objective index, neural activity score (NAS), reveals neural network ontogeny and treatment effects on microelectrode arrays,” Sci Rep, vol. 11, no. 1, p. 9110, Apr. 2021, doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-88675-w.
H. Zhao et al., “Compliant 3D frameworks instrumented with strain sensors for characterization of millimeter-scale engineered muscle tissues,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 118, no. 19, p. e2100077118, May 2021, doi: 10.1073/pnas.2100077118.
Z. Li and M. T. A. Saif, “Mechanics of Biohybrid Valveless Pump-Bot,” Journal of Applied Mechanics, vol. 88, no. 111004, Jul. 2021, doi: 10.1115/1.4051595.

J. Bauer et al., “Increased stiffness of the tumor microenvironment in colon cancer stimulates cancer associated fibroblast-mediated prometastatic activin A signaling,” Sci Rep, vol. 10, no. 1, p. 50, Jan. 2020, doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-55687-6.
O. Aydin et al., “Development of 3D neuromuscular bioactuators,” APL Bioengineering, vol. 4, no. 1, p. 016107, Mar. 2020, doi: 10.1063/1.5134477.
M. Elhebeary, T. Harzer, G. Dehm, and M. T. A. Saif, “Time-dependent plasticity in silicon microbeams mediated by dislocation nucleation,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 117, no. 29, pp. 16864–16871, Jul. 2020, doi: 10.1073/pnas.2002681117.
O. Aydin, B. Emon, S. Cheng, L. Hong, L. P. Chamorro, and M. T. A. Saif, “Performance of fabrics for home-made masks against the spread of COVID-19 through droplets: A quantitative mechanistic study,” Extreme Mechanics Letters, vol. 40, p. 100924, Oct. 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.eml.2020.100924.
M. E. Kandel et al., “Phase imaging with computational specificity (PICS) for measuring dry mass changes in sub-cellular compartments,” Nat Commun, vol. 11, no. 1, p. 6256, Dec. 2020, doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-20062-x.