Unit
Physics of Cells and Cancer (UMR168)
Thematic areas of research:
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Unit
PASCAL HERSEN / MATHIEU COPPEY / ANTOINE COULON
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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New results from Institut Curie shed light on environment-dependent collective cell migration.Texturing the cell culture substrate with parallel microgrooves spaced at a scale smaller than one cell size induces highly organized overall movement in human bronchial epithelial cells.30/05/2024 -
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
Scientific events
All scientific events
12 Mar
2025
Seminar
11h-23h
Compartment-specific protein dynamics and signalling in living cells revealed by smFRET
Proteins in cells are not homogeneously distributed, but often localized to specific compartments, which may or may not be enclosed by membranes.
Here I will first discuss the dynamic formation of membraneless compartments in the non-equilibrium environment of living cells and how this formation can be regulated, e.g. by kinases [1]. Then I will show how single-molecule FRET (smFRET)
Here I will first discuss the dynamic formation of membraneless compartments in the non-equilibrium environment of living cells and how this formation can be regulated, e.g. by kinases [1]. Then I will show how single-molecule FRET (smFRET)
11 Sep
2024
Seminar
11h-23h
From perception to action without nerves and muscles: lessons from plants
As sessile organisms, plants face a constantly changing environment with no means of escape. Thus, despite their lack of nerves and muscles, they have evolved unique mechanisms to perceive and respond to external physical signals. In this seminar, I will illustrate this ability through two emblematic plant responses. First, I will discuss plant gravitropism - the growth response and reorientation
17 Jul
2024
Seminar
11h-23h
Bioengineering Human Embryo and Organ Models
Early human development remains mysterious and difficult to study. Recent advances in developmental biology, stem cell biology and bioengineering have contributed to a significant interest in constructing controllable, stem cell-based models of human embryo and organs (embryoids / organoids). The controllability and reproducibility of these human development models, coupled with the ea
10 Jul
2024
Seminar
11h-23h
Engineering fluorescent biosensors to spy on cell signaling and metabolism
The ever-broadening selection of high performance fluorescent protein (FP)-based biosensors is revolutionizing our ability to spy on the otherwise invisible world of intracellular signalling and metabolism. In this seminar I will describe our most recent efforts to use protein engineering to make a new generation of genetically encoded biosensors, and chemigenetic biosensors augmented with synthet
3 Jul
2024
Seminar
11h-23h
Molecular assembly and mechanics of single vimentin intermediate filaments
Intermediate filaments (IF) are involved in key cellular functions including polarization, migration, and protection against large deformations. These functions are related to their remarkable ability to extend without breaking, a capacity that should be determined by the molecular organization of subunits within filaments. However, this structure-mechanics relationship remains poorly understood a