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| POST DOCTORAL BIOGRAPHY |
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| Haguy Wolfenson |
| Postdoctoral Fellow |
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| I joined the Sheetz lab in the fall of 2011 after graduating from Tel Aviv University. During my PhD studies I employed a variety of biophysical methods to study how the dynamics of focal adhesions are regulated. My current research in the Sheetz lab is focused on analyses of the steps in building the machinery used by fibroblasts to sense and transmit rigidity signals. Recent studies show that the rigidity of the extracellular matrix is a critical determinant of cell growth, differentiation, and death. Irregular rigidity signals or defective responses to appropriate rigidity signals underlie many medical disorders. Despite the importance of mechanosensing of matrix rigidity, findings in this field have been mainly phenomenological, and at the moment we still don’t know how rigidity sensing occurs. I am combining the use of nanofabricated surfaces with integrin ligands, elastic micropillars that allow measuring forces, and super-resolution microscopy to define the critical steps in the assembly of integrin adhesions and to determine which proteins are essential for force production and rigidity sensing. |
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