Padmini Rangamani, Ph.D.
Professor of Pharmacology, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Padmini Rangamani, Ph.D.
Professor of Pharmacology, School of Medicine; Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Jacobs School of Engineering
Research Interests
The goal of our research group is to answer fundamental questions in cell and tissue mechanotransduction using computational modeling. We are broadly interested in the interplay of cell shape, signaling, and mechanics. We use principles of mechanics coupled with signal transduction to model and identify principles underlying biological phenomena. Our interests are rather broad. Current topics of research in our lab include the biophysics of membrane curvature generation, membrane-cytoskeleton interactions, systems modeling of exercise physiology, and the biophysics of neurons. Our goal is to develop a fundamental understanding of how morphology and topology regulate cellular phenomena and tissue-level interactions using rigorous mathematical and computational modeling. Our group is diverse and includes biologists, engineers, physicists, and chemists.
Selected Publications
A. Ghisleni, M. Bonilla Quintana, M. Crestani, A. Fukuzawa, P. Rangamani, N. C. Gauthier. Mechanically induced topological transition of spectrin regulates its distribution in the mammalian cortex. Nat Comms. 2024 Jul 8;15(1):5711. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-49906-6
A. Khalilimeybodi, J. Saucerman, P. Rangamani: Modeling Cardiomyocyte Signaling and Metabolism Predicts Genotype to Phenotype Mechanisms in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Computers in Biology and Medicine. 2024 Jun:175:108499. doi: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2024.108499.Epub 2024 Apr 24.
A.Chandrasekaran, K. Graham, J.C. Stachowiak, and P. Rangamani: Kinetic trapping organizes actin filaments within liquid-like protein droplets. Nat. Comms. 2024 Apr 11;15(1):3139. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-46726-6.
Chen, D. Saintillan, and P. Rangamani: Cell motility modes are selected by the interplay of mechanosensitive adhesion and membrane tension. PRX Life, 2023, 1(2): 023007
K.D. Graham, A. Chandrasekaran, L. Wang, A. Ladak, E. M. Lafer, P. Rangamani, and J. C. Stachowiak: Liquid-like assembly of VASP drives actin polymerization and bundling Nat.Phys. (2023). 2023 Apr;19(4):574-585. doi: 10.1038/s41567-022-01924-1. Epub 2023 Jan 30. Discussed in The secret life of the protein VASP by Julie Plastino and Highlighted in Physics Today
Linden, B. Kramer, and P. Rangamani: Bayesian Parameter Estimation for Dynamical Models in Systems Biology(Link). PLoS Comp Biol. 2022 Oct 21;18(10):e1010651. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010651.
Hernández Mesa , J. van den Brink , W. E. Louch , K. J. McCabe, and P. Rangamani: Nanoscale organization of ryanodine receptor distribution and phosphorylation pattern determines the dynamics of calcium sparks (Published). PLoS Comp Biol. 2022 Jun 6;18(6):e1010126. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010126
K.E. Scott, S.I. Fraley, and P. Rangamani: A spatial model of YAP/TAZ signaling reveals how stiffness, dimensionality, and shape contribute to emergent outcomes (bioRxiv link). 2021. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. May 18, 2021 118 (20) e2021571118; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2021571118
E. Hassinger, G. Oster, D. G. Drubin, and P. Rangamani: Design principles for robust vesiculation in clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 2017, 114:7 E1118-1127 doi:10.1073/pnas1617705114
Rangamani, A. Lipshtat, E. U. Azeloglu, R. C. Calizo, M. Hu, S. Ghassemi, J. Hone, S. Scarlata, S. R. Neves and R. Iyengar: Decoding Information in Cell Shape. Cell, 12 Sep 2013, 154(6):1356-69