Research
Our laboratory studies how cells compute with mechanical forces.
Cells constantly experience physical forces from their environment. Our research aims to understand how these forces are sensed at the molecular level and converted into biological signals that control cellular behaviour. To address this problem, we combine structural biology, biochemistry, biophysics and mechanobiology to study the proteins that transmit forces through cell–extracellular matrix adhesion complexes.
Our work focuses on the mechanosensitive protein talin, which we defined as a central signalling hub within integrin adhesions. We discovered that the talin rod contains a series of force-dependent binary switches that unfold under mechanical load, converting mechanical inputs into biochemical signalling outputs. These switches allow talin to function as a molecular system that processes mechanical information inside cells.
More recently, we showed that talin switches can remain persistently altered, revealing that talin possesses a form of molecular memory in which mechanical information is stored in protein conformation. This work led to the MeshCODE theory, which proposes that networks of mechanosensitive proteins operate as molecular information-processing systems capable of storing and updating mechanical information.
Our long-term goal is to understand how mechanical information encoded in proteins influences cellular signalling, neural function and memory. By connecting molecular-scale mechanics to cellular and neuronal information processing, we aim to define the mechanical basis of biological information processing.
This research is providing new insights into diseases linked to defects in mechanosensitive signalling, including Alzheimer’s disease and rare childhood epilepsies like CDKL5 deficiency disorder.
In parallel, we have discovered that talin also functions as an exceptional molecular shock absorber. We are exploiting this property to develop Talin Shock Absorbing Materials (TSAMs), translating the unique mechanical behaviour of mechanosensitive proteins into advanced materials for defence and consumer technologies.
We also create MeshCODE "to-scale" animations that reconstruct mechanosensitive protein systems at true molecular scale, providing a visual framework for explaining mechanical information processing in cells to students, scientists and the wider public.
Research grants
APP-mediated mechanical signaling and its regulation by Alzheimer's risk genes (APPMechano )
BRIGHTFOCUS (USA)
January 2026 - December 2027
Stromal Rigidity as a Driver of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Progression
CANCER RESEARCH UK (UK)
March 2024 - July 2026
Development of a novel technology to read the shape of a memory molecule
ROYAL SOCIETY
March 2024 - July 2025
Talin dependent mechanical imprinting as driver for cardiac disease progression
BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION (UK)
March 2024 - August 2026