The Biophysics Virtual Seminar Series presents:

Dr. Nancy Forde - Department of Physics, Simon Fraser University

“Collagen: a fascinating responsive material building block from Nature”

Join us on Zoom: https://umich.zoom.us/j/96009492561

Abstract: Multicellular life is scaffolded by structures that maintain cells in the desired locations and organizations. Conventionally these extracellular scaffolds have been viewed as rigid, unchanging supports laid down during development and unaltered except by injury or disease. Recent scientific advances are revealing instead that these matrices are highly dynamic and respond to changes in their local microenvironment, in turn affecting cells. The collagen family of proteins has been selected via evolution as the preferred building block of these extracellular structures.

In this talk, I will introduce some of the fascinating physical properties of the unique triple-helix structure of collagen, and will highlight the results of our investigations into its mechanical properties. Our single-molecule approaches include centrifuge force microscopy, optical tweezers and atomic force microscopy, and many parallels can be drawn with the mechanics of DNA. Our work is revealing clues as to how stability is encoded within collagen’s sequence, and how collagen’s triple helix balances structural stability with responsiveness to applied force and chemical environment.