Conference: SICB 2023 Symposium: Large-scale phenomena arising from small-scale biophysical processes

Swarthmore College, Swarthmore PA

Investigators

Abstract

This award partially supports expenses for participants in a symposium and a workshop at the January 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB). The symposium brings together biologists and engineers studying questions about emerging large-scale influences of single cells in different study systems. Single cells, despite their small size, can organize and behave in ways that have unexpected and wide-reaching consequences. For instance, the physical forces that exist between cells drive tissue formation and pave the way for the evolution of complex, multicellular organisms. Another very different example in which large-scale patterns emerge from individual-cell behavior lies in the swimming of single-celled algae; swimming helps them navigate the ocean environment and form vast communities visible from space. Of the eleven speakers and two symposium organizers, six are from groups underrepresented in science and nine are early-career investigators; the speakers will present and discuss the latest findings and techniques, marrying state-of-the-art field, laboratory, and mathematical approaches. The symposium topic integrates across scales and types of organisms, and addresses both physiological and biomechanical questions through experiments and modeling. There will also be a complementary workshop to discuss strategies for engaging in successful cross-disciplinary research to promote the use of mathematics, physics and engineering tools to address biological problems. Results from the meeting and workshop will be published in the Society’s journal, Integrative and Comparative Biology. The emergence of large-scale patterns from small-scale behavior and physiology of single cells is a broad theme of research interest across multiple biological fields. Aiming to facilitate the exchange of expertise and to promote cross-disciplinary research, this symposium will bring together researchers working on biophysical processes across cellular, organismal, and evolutionary scales in both aquatic and terrestrial systems. The three main themes of the symposium are 1) how small-scale biomechanics shape tissue formation; 2) how small-scale biophysics shape ecological interactions; and 3) how physical forces shape the evolution of early life. As a part of the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Austin, TX, in January 2023, this symposium highlights the work of early-career researchers from diverse backgrounds. In addition to research presentations, the organizers will host a workshop on best practices in cross-disciplinary research. Results from the symposium and workshop will be disseminated via publication in an issue of the journal Integrative and Comparative Biology, and the participants will produce a position paper about future directions in this interdisciplinary field. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.