Thematic areas of research:
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Unit
Physics of Cells and Cancer (UMR168)
The goal of the unit is to uncover the role of physical laws in the architecture and functions of cellular systems. To this end, the teams follow cross-disciplinary approaches involving physics, chemistry and biology.
Teams
Key figures
150
physicists, chemists and biologists, including 35 researchers, 39 PhD students, 31 postdoctoral fellows and 28 technicians and engineers
13
Research teams labeled by prestigious funding agencies (ERC, ANR, H2020, FRM, ARC, La Ligue, etc ...)
4
state of the arts platforms in biochemistry and molecular biology, microfluidics, microfabrication, electron microscopy
Key publications
All publications
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Nanoscale architecture of a VAP-A-OSBP tethering complex at membrane contact sitesNature Communications
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Fast recovery of disrupted tip links induced by mechanical displacement of hair bundlesProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
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Stick–slip model for actin-driven cell protrusions, cell polarization, and crawlingProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
News
All news
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DNA barcodes to identify groups of cellsA team from Institut Curie and CNRS has developed an open-access software and experimental guide to help researchers analyze cell genealogy. Their study was published in Nature Computational on Monday February the 19th. These results could have numerous applications in cancer research, in particular to identify groups of cells involved in certain mechanisms, such as resistance to treatment.22/02/2024 -
Congratulations to Dr Leïla Perié, winner of an ERC Consolidator GrantOn Thursday November 23, 2023, Dr. Leïla Perié, head of the Quantitative Immuno-hematology team (CNRS UMR168 / Sorbonne Université), was awarded a European Research Council Consolidator Grant. This €2 million grant supports her "Dynamyelo" project, which addresses the mysteries of myeloid cell dynamics during immune responses.04/12/2023 -
Le Dr Pascal Hersen, lauréat d’une ERC Proof of Concept GrantLe 27 juillet dernier, le Dr Pascal Hersen, directeur de l'unité de recherche Physico-Chimie Curie et chef de l'équipe Contrôle dynamique de la signalisation et de l'expression génétique, a obtenu une bourse ERC Proof of Concept. Elle vient soutenir son projet "CyberSco.Py" qui vise à développer une solution de microscopie intelligente en temps réel.02/08/2023 -
Institut Curie - Institut Pasteur partnership: two joint projects to promote innovation and advancement of knowledgeImplementing their collaborative research strategy, Institut Curie and Institut Pasteur have raised the impressive amount of €600,000 to finance two research projects involving two teams from each organization. The MUCTOLIN project, looking at the role of tolerance induced by mucus during Listeria infection, and the TicTac project, which aims to study the effects of geometry on the healthy or cancerous status of a cell or on its development, were chosen.28/04/2023 -
Cryomicroscopy: the Research Center thinks bigThe brand new Glacios Cryo-TEM™ by Thermo Fischer was received in February at Institut Curie’s Research Center, This powerful cryo-electron microscope worth over 2 million euros will enable researchers to observe proteins at unprecedented resolution. A new opportunity to understand their function and the alterations responsible for diseases, particularly cancer.17/04/2023 -
Congratulations to Leïla Périé and Antoine Coulon, winners of the CNRS Bronze Medal 2023Two scientists from the Research Center have just been honored by the CNRS. Each year the organization rewards the women and men who have made the greatest contributions to its reputation and progress in research. The 2023 edition once again recognizes the excellence of the researchers working at Institut Curie’s Research Center.04/04/2023
Scientific events
All scientific events
24 Apr
2024
Seminar
11h-23h
High-speed imaging of droplet and vesicle formation during emulsion transfer (cDICE)
Giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) are widely used as in vitro model membranes in biophysics and as cell-sized containers in synthetic biology. Despite their ubiquitous use, there is no one-size-fits-all method for their production. Numerous methods have been developed to meet the demanding requirements of reproducibility, reliability, and high yield, while simultaneously achieving robust encapsula
17 Apr
2024
Seminar
11h-23h
The Countoscope: Measuring Dynamics by Counting Particles in Boxes
Any imaging technique is limited by lts field of view. As objects or particles move in and out of the observation field, tracking their motion, especially over long periods, beoomes challenging. ln addition, available analysis techniques face challenges reconstructing trajectories in dense and heterogeneous systems where accurately labelling partlcles is difficult. Here, we shift this paradigm by
3 Apr
2024
Seminar
11h-23h
Mechanisms of Organelle Remodeling for Cellular Function
To function, organisms rely on vital organs which, in turn, rely on specialized cells. At the subcellular scale, cell specialization is notably driven by robust mechanisms of organelle remodeling. Thus, discovering these mechanisms is key for the fundamental understanding of organisms in health and disease, as well as for improved organ engineering. In this seminar, I will discuss my research on o
27 Mar
2024
Seminar
11h-23h
Biophotonics, Robots, Ghosts
In this talk, I will discuss two qualitatively new directions in biophotonics:
i) FLUCS & interactive microscopy: We have made efforts to understand and control cellular organization through the induction of thermoviscous flows. This includes the non-invasive interference and guidance of PAR polarization in C. elegans, probe-free intracellular rheology, and recently, nanoscale manipula
i) FLUCS & interactive microscopy: We have made efforts to understand and control cellular organization through the induction of thermoviscous flows. This includes the non-invasive interference and guidance of PAR polarization in C. elegans, probe-free intracellular rheology, and recently, nanoscale manipula
20 Mar
2024
Seminar
11h-23h
Eukaryotic-like gephyrin and cognate membrane receptor coordinate corynebacterial cell division and polar elongation
The order Corynebacteriales includes major industrial and pathogenic actinobacteria such as Corynebacterium glutamicum or Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Their elaborate multi-layered cell wall and their polar growth mode impose a stringent coordination between the septal divisome, organized around the tubulin-like protein FtsZ, and the polar elongasome, assembled around the tropomyosin-like protein W