The course comprised two parts. During the first week, morning lectures built knowledge of cross-disciplinary topics in the mechanobiology of animal and plant cells. Afternoon sessions consisted of labs designed to build modeling, analysis, imaging, and bioinformatics skills. During the second week, interdisciplinary teams conducted a research project that culminated in a group presentation. Additional professional development sessions were given in week two to enrich participants’ graduate school experience and help prepare them for future career pathways.
Funded by the The Center for Engineering MechanoBiology (CEMB).
Faculty, TAs and Students 
Boot Camp TAs and participants dinner. 
Boot Camp TAs and participants dinner. 
Boot Camp TAs and participants dinner. 
Team 1 preparing for presentation 
Leila Jaafar presents on Team Project 1 topic, “Is the SWIZ transcription factor a plant equivalent of the animal YAP/Taz?” 
Shumeng Jiang presents on Team Project 1 topic, “Is the SWIZ transcription factor a plant equivalent of the animal YAP/Taz?” 
Vyankatesh Zambare presents on Team Project 2 topic, “Microscale Motion Capture of Root-Substrate Mechanobiological Interactions” 
L-R: Rebecca Reals, Vyankatesh Zambare, Yuxuan Huang, Ariell Smith presents on Team Project 2 topic, “Microscale Motion Capture of Root-Substrate Mechanobiological Interactions” 
L-R: Maria Canónicco Castro, Elizabeth Doherty, Dakota Kamm, Keshav Kailash, Chengqing Qu presents on Team Project 3 topic, “Do all soluble growth factors (for which a cell expresses the cognate receptor) induce changes in cell mechanics?” 
Final luncheon 
Schedule
Monday, July 18, 2022 – Friday, July 29, 2022
| Day | Morning Lectures | Afternoon Labs |
|---|---|---|
| WEEK 1 | ||
| Mon., 7/18/2022 | 9:00 – 9:15 am, 120 Jubel Hall: Welcome and Boot Camp Introduction/Expectations, Guy Genin & Ram Dixit 9:15 -10:00 am, 120 Jubel Hall: Lecture by Paul Janmey (Basic biochemistry and mechanics) Slides 10:15 -11:00 am, 120 Jubel Hall: Lecture by Anders Carlsson (Measuring forces) Slides 11:00 – 11:30 am, 120 Jubel Hall: CREST team introduction and initial survey 11:30 – 1:00 pm, 120 Jubel Hall: Working lunch (team project meeting) | 1:00 – 3:00 pm, 130 Whitaker: MatLab Basics by Louis Woodhams (Numerical differentiation and integration; Numerical methods for ODEs; Simulink and exercises) 3:00 – 5:00 pm, 130 Whitaker: Modeling Biological Problems by Anders Carlsson and Guy Genin (Students will apply the Matlab techniques to mechanobiology topics including osmotic swelling and cytoskeletal force generation) |
| Tues., 7/19/2022 | 9:00 – 9:45 am, 120 Jubel Hall: Lecture by Ram Dixit (Intro to plant and animal cytoskeleton) Slides 10:00 – 10:45 am, 120 Jubel Hall: Lecture by Amit Pathak (animal cell adhesion) Slides 11:00 – 1:00 pm, 120 Jubel Hall: Working lunch (team project meeting) | 1:00 – 4:00 pm, 1049 Brauer Hall: Cell wall carbohydrate analysis lab by Morgan Li 4:00 – 5:00 pm, 249 McDonnell Hall: Plant cell protoplasting lab by Josh Coomey and Ivan Radin |
| Wed., 7/20/2022 | 9:00 – 9:45 am, 120 Jubel Hall: Lecture by Guy Genin (Animal ECM) Slides 10:00 – 10:45 am, 120 Jubel Hall: Lecture by Ben Prosser (Intro to nuclear mechanobiology) 11:00 – 1:00 pm, 120 Jubel Hall: Working lunch (team project meeting) | 1:00 – 5:00 pm, 140 Whitaker (Huebsch) and 338 Jubel (Wagenseil): Groups 1 and 2 alternate between 2-hour labs with Jessica Wagenseil/Christie Crandall (biaxial mechanical testing of mouse arteries) and Nate Huebsch/Ghiska Ramahdita (engineered fibroblast tissue and stress measurements). 1:00 – 5:00 pm, 1748 West Building (WUSM): Group 3 does lab with Gretchen Meyer (fabricate hydrogels of different stiffnesses; image cells that were grown on the different stiffnesses and look for changes in cell shape). |
| Thurs., 7/21/2022 | 9:00 – 9:45 am, 120 Jubel Hall: Lecture by Charlie Anderson (plant cell wall) Slides 10:00 – 10:45 am, 120 Jubel Hall: Liz Haswell (mechanosensitive channels) Slides 11:00 – 1:00 pm, 120 Jubel Hall: Working lunch (team project meeting) | 1:00 – 5:00 pm: Group 3 alternates between labs with Jessica Wagenseil/Christie Crandall (338 Jubel) and Nate Huebsch/Ghiska Ramahdita (140 Whitaker), and Groups 1 and 2 do the lab with Gretchen Meyer at the medical school (1748 West Building). |
| Fri., 7/22/2022 | 9:00 – 9:45 am, 120 Jubel Hall: Lecture by Nate Huebsch (artificial matrices) Slides 10:00 – 10:45 am, 120 Jubel Hall: Lecture by Bill Polacheck (microfluidics) 11:00 – 1:00 pm, 120 Jubel Hall: Working lunch (team project meeting) | 1:00 – 5:00 pm, 245 and 249 McDonnell Hall: Groups 1, 2 and 3 will spend between 1 to 1.5 hours at different stations plating Arabidopsis seeds, live imaging plants, analyzing roots, and performing osmotic shock experiments. TAs: Ryan Calcutt, Natasha Bilkey, Ivan Radin, Ryan Richardson, and Josh Coomey. 6:00 pm, Dinner Party with TAs, Village House |
| WEEK 2 | ||
| Mon., 7/25/2022 | 12:00 – 1:00 pm, 120 Jubel Hall Michelle DeLair (Career Exploration Series Part 1: Assess your Skills, Interests, and Values) Slides | Student teams work on their assigned project using a combination of wet and dry lab experiments. All 3 teams will be present their findings on Friday, July 29. |
| Wed., 7/27/2022 | 12:00 – 1:00 pm, 120 Jubel Hall Michelle DeLair (Career Exploration Series Part II: LinkedIn, Informational Interviewing, and Networking) | Student teams work on their assigned project using a combination of wet and dry lab experiments. All 3 teams will be present their findings on Friday, July 29. |
| Fri., 7/29/2022 | 10:00 – 12:00 pm, 3015 Brauer Hall: Team presentations Slides Team 1 | Slides Team 2 | Slides Team 3 12:00 – 1:00 pm: Reception in second floor lobby | 2:00 pm: Focus group with CREST |
Boot Camp TAs and Attendees
| Name | Role | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| Natasha Bilkey | Teaching Assistant | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Ryan Calcutt | Teaching Assistant | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Joshua Coomey | Teaching Assistant | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Christie Crandall | Teaching Assistant | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Morgan Li | Teaching Assistant | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Madhura Nijsure | Teaching Assistant | University of Pennsylvania |
| Ivan Radin | Teaching Assistant | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Ghiska Ramahdita | Teaching Assistant | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Ryan Richardson | Teaching Assistant | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Louis Woodhams | Lecturer | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Karen Xu | Teaching Assistant | University of Pennsylvania |
| Maria Laura Canónicco Castro | Attendee | Penn State |
| Elizabeth Louise Doherty | Attendee | UNC at Chapel Hill |
| Yuxuan Huang | Attendee | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Leila Jaafar Harb | Attendee | Penn State |
| Shumeng Jiang | Attendee | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Keshav Kailash | Attendee | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Dakota Kamm | Attendee | Washington University in St. Louis |
| William McHargue | Attendee | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Lauren Paschall | Attendee | Penn State |
| Chengqing Qu | Attendee | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Rebecca Reals | Attendee | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Suraj Kumar Sahu | Attendee | UC Merced |
| Ariell Smith | Attendee | UC Merced |
| Vyankatesh Zambare | Attendee | Penn State |