Deputy Director and Principal Investigator of the Mechanobiology Institute
email: dbsgvs@nus.edu.sg
Deputy Director, Mechanobiology Institute, Singapore
Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore
curriculum vitae [DOC]
RESEARCH AREAS
Nuclear Mechanics & Genome Regulation
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Mechanical signals from the extracellular matrix impinge on cellular geometry resulting in altered functional nuclear landscape and gene expression. These alterations regulate diverse biological processes including stem-cell differentiation, developmental genetic programs and cellular homeostatic control systems. How such signals are integrated to the 3D spatio-temporal organization of the cell nucleus to elicit differential gene expression patterns are poorly understood. Using a multidisciplinary approach, combining high resolution live-cell imaging and mechanics experiments, our laboratory investigates the biophysical principles underlying the coupling between nuclear mechanics and genome regulation. In these projects, we engage in a number of collaborations with both theoretical and experimental groups. Ongoing major projects include:
• Impact of cellular geometry on nuclear mechanics & dynamics
• Spatio-temporal analysis of nuclear mechanotransduction
• Coupling between nuclear mechanics and transcription control
• Transitions in nuclear mechanics during cellular differentiation
BIOGRAPHY
Prof Shivashankar joined the Department of Biological Sciences and MBI in November 2009. Prior to this, he was a tenured faculty at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Bangalore, India. With a background in experimental physics, his research interests turned to biological systems during the course of his Ph.D. work (1994-1999) at The Rockefeller University, New York, USA. His long-term interests in information control have led him to explore the link between geometry and genome assembly and its implications to mechanoregulation of genetic information within the nucleus of living cells.
Current lab members (Updated Sept 2012)
Postdoctoral fellows and associates: Toh Kee Chua, Paramasivam Kathirvel, Laleh Mollazadeh, Mallika Nagarajan, Li Qingsen
PhD students: Venkatesan Iyer, Nikhil Jain, Abhishek Kumar, Ekta Makhija, Shovamayee Maharana, Nisha Ramdas, Yejun Wang
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS (2010-2012)
(Book) Nuclear Mechanics & Genome Regulation (2010), G.V.Shivashankar, Editor, Methods in Cell Biology series, Elsevier Press
Dynamic organization of chromatin assembly & transcription factories in living cells Bidisha Sinha, Dipanjan Bhattacharya, Deepak Kumar Sinha, Shefali Talwar, Shovamayee Maharana, Soumya Gupta & G. V.Shivashankar, Methods Cell Biol. (2010) 98, 57-78
Prestressed Nuclear Organization in Living Cells, Aprotim Mazumder, Roopa T., Abhishek Kumar, K.Venkatesan Iyer, Nisha M Ramdas & G. V.Shivashankar, Methods Cell Biol. (2010) 98, 221-239
Emergence of prestressed eukaryotic nucleus during cellular differentiation and development Aprotim Mazumder & G.V.Shivashankar J R Soc Interface. (2010) Suppl 3:S321-30
(Review) Mechanosignaling to cell nucleus and genome regulation G.V.Shivashankar, Annual Reviews of Biophysics, (2011), Vol.40, 361-378
Integrin adhesion drives the emergent polarisation of active cytoskeletal stresses to pattern cell delamination C Meghana, Nisha Ramdas, Feroz Hameed, Madan Rao, G.V. Shivashankar & Maithreyi Narasimha, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences-USA (2011), 108, 9107-9112
Mechanical force alters morphogenetic movements and segmental gene expression patterns during Drosophila embryogenesis Abhishek Kumar & G.V. Shivashankar (PLoS-One 2012 in press)
Dynamic organization of transcription factories is dependent on functional nuclear architecture Shovamayee Maharana, Divya Sharma, Shi Xianke & G.V. Shivashankar (BiophysJ 2012 – in press)
Modeling and experimental methods to probe the link between global transcription and spatial organization of chromosomes K.Venkatesan Iyer, Shovamayee Maharana, Soumya Gupta, Albert Libchaber, Tsvi Tlusty & G.V. Shivashankar (PLoS-One 2012 in press)
Developmental heterogeneity in DNA packaging patterns influences T-cell activation and transmigration Soumya Gupta, Shefali Talwar, R.Indulaxmi, Lakshmi R. Perumalsamy, Apurva Sarin & G.V.Shivashankar (PLoS-One 2012 in press)
Dynamics of passive and active particles in the cell nucleus Feroz Meeran, Madan Rao & G.V.Shivashankar (PLoS-One 2012 in press)
Mechanical activation of cells reveals distinct timescales in chromatin remodelling and MKL nuclear transport Venkatesan Iyer, Stephanie Pulford, Alex Mogilner and G.V.Shivashankar (BiophysJ 2012 in press)
PUBLICATIONS (under review/revision/submission – 2012)
Structural heterogeneity in chromatin compaction states characterizes stem cells Shefali Talwar, Abhishek Kumar, Madan Rao, Gautam Menon & G.V. Shivashankar
Role of actin dependent nuclear deformation in regulating early gene expression Soumya Gupta, Nimi Marcel, Apurva Sarin & G.V.Shivashankar
Cellular geometry mediated apical stress fibers dynamically couples nucleus to focal adhesion Li Qingsen, Abhishek Kumar and G.V.Shivashankar
Geometric constraints differentially alter cytoplasmic-nuclear signaling to regulate gene expression Nikhil Jain, K.Venkatesan Iyer & G.V.Shivashankar
