UF Chemical Engineering > People > Faculty > Tanmay Lele
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Tanmay Lele
Ph.D., 2002, Purdue University
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| Assistant Professor |
Ph : 352-392-0317
tlele@che.ufl.edu
329 Chemical Engineering Building |
| Faculty
Web Page |
| Areas |
| Cell mechano-transduction |
| Cytoskeletal force generation |
| Nano-biotechnology |
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| Cell mechano-transduction |
| Hydrodynamic shear due to blood flow or deformation of tissue
exerts forces on cells. Cells transduce these forces into
an intracellular response through a process called mechano-transduction.
The molecular level mechanisms of mechano-transduction are
poorly understood. We develop and apply new engineering technologies
for mechanical manipulation and simultaneous visualization
of molecular processes inside living cells. This research
has applications in understanding diseases of mechano-transduction,
such as atherosclerosis and myopathies. |
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| Cytoskeletal force generation |
| The cytoskeleton inside cells is a protein-based polymeric
network that generates mechanical pushing and pulling forces.
Forces generated in the cytoskeleton allow cells to spread,
move and divide. We study the molecular mechanisms of force
generation in the microtubule and acto-myosin cytoskeleton.
We use a combination of imaging techniques including femtosecond
laser ablation and fluorescence photo-bleaching along with
computational modeling. |
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| Microtubules |
Intermediate Filaments |
Centrosome (green) with nucleus(blue) |
Actin(green) with (red) and necleus(blue) |
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| Nano-biotechnology |
| To improve the performance of current biomedical implants,
it is necessary to achieve control over the fate of cells
that interact with the implants. We are developing novel strategies
of modulating the surface of devices using nano-structured
coatings. The nanostructures modulate cells by influencing
molecular-level processes during cell-surface adhesion. We
also study the molecular mechanisms by which cell adhesion
is modulated by nano-structures. |
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SEM micrographs
of cells on nanorods. Cells are unable
to spread on nanorods. White arrows are filopodia-like
structures. Scale bar of (A) is 3 µm &1 µm(inset).
Scale bar of (B) is 5 µm & 2 µm (inset).
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| Recent Publications |
| 1. |
Russell
R, Xia S-L, Dickinson RB and Lele TP, "Sarcomere
mechanics in capillary endothelial cells", Biophysical
Journal, In press. |
| 2. |
Lee J, Chu Byung-Hwan, Chen N, Ren F
and Lele TP, "Randomly oriented, upright SiO2 coated
nanorods for reduced adhesion of mammalian cells",
Biomaterials 30 (2009) 4488-4493. |
| 3 |
Lele, T.P., Thodeti, C., Pendse, J., Ingber, D.E., "Investigating Complexity of Protein-Protein Interactions in Focal Adhesions," Biophysical and Biochemical Research Communications, 369-3 (2008) 929. |
| 4. |
Lele, T.P, Sero, J., Matthews, B., Kumar, S., Montoya, M.M.Z., Polte, T., Overby, D. and Ingber, D.E., "Tools to Study Cell Mechanics and Mechanotransduction," Methods in Cell Biology, 83 (2007) 435.
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| 5. |
Lele TP and Kumar SK, "Brushes, cables and ratchets: Recent insights into multiscale assembly and mechanics of cellular structural networks", Cell Biochemistry and Biophysics, 47: 348-360 (2007). |
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