When: 11–12 November 2026
Where: The Studio, Melbourne Connect, 700 Swanston St, Carlton VIC 3053
About the Workshop
The Australian Society for Mechanobiology is pleased to launch its inaugural Research & Strategy Workshop — a new community-focused initiative designed to strengthen connections across the Australian mechanobiology community.
The workshop will bring researchers together in a collaborative and interactive environment to identify emerging opportunities and help shape the future direction of the field.
Registration and Abstracts
Registration and abstract submissions are now open. All attendees, including invited speakers, should complete the registration form. The form collects the information needed for the workshop and provides the current payment instructions where applicable.
Register and submit an abstract →
Abstracts may be submitted for an oral or poster presentation. Oral presentation places are limited, and some abstracts requesting an oral presentation may be offered a poster presentation.
Key Dates
- Abstract submission deadline: extended to Friday 9 October 2026
Confirmed Speakers
Registration Fees
The registration fee includes workshop attendance, catering throughout the workshop, and one year of AuSMB membership.
Registration remains at the original early-bird rates, with no price increase.
| Category | Registration fee |
|---|---|
| Student | $270 |
| Postdoctoral Researcher | $340 |
| Lab Head / Group Leader | $440 |
Workshop Dinner
When: 11 November 2026
Venue: Cairo by Nights
Dinner ticket: $100
Dietary requirements can be provided in the registration form.
Workshop Activities
Mechanobiology Book Chapter Opportunity
Workshop participants are invited to express interest in leading or contributing to a chapter for a forthcoming Mechanobiology book to be published by Springer. We particularly encourage ECRs and MCRs to propose and lead chapters, with opportunities to collaborate with established experts in the field. Interested participants will be invited to give a brief 5–10 minute presentation outlining their proposed chapter topic.
Perspectives on Mechanobiology in Australia
A collaborative group activity will explore the current landscape, emerging directions, and future opportunities for mechanobiology research in Australia, with the aim of developing a perspective article for submission to a mechanobiology-focused journal after the workshop.
You can indicate your interest in these activities in the registration form.
Sponsors
AuSMB thanks the organisations supporting the workshop.
- Cyan Biotech
- AXT
- Baker Department of Cardiometabolic Health, University of Melbourne
- ZEISS
Contact
Scientific Program
Latest version (Google Doc)
Day 1
Wednesday, 11 November 2026 | The Studio at Melbourne Connect, Location: Ground Floor (Level G), Melbourne Connect (Building 291), 700 Swanston Street, Carlton VIC 3053
Day Chair: Sara Baratchi
| Time | Session / Presentation | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 08:30–09:00 | Registration | |
| 09:00–09:05 | Welcome and Opening Remarks | Sara Baratchi |
| 09:05–10:35 | Session 1 – Mechanosensing and Mechanotransduction: From Molecules to Tissues Chair: Renee Chow |
|
| 09:05–09:35 | Mechanobiology: past, present and future | Boris Martinac Keynote |
| 09:35–10:05 | Shear stress and how it drives cardiovascular diseases | Karlheinz Peter Keynote |
| 10:05–10:35 | Epithelial homeostasis: tissue mechanics and biology | Alpha Yap Keynote |
| 10:35–11:05 | Morning Tea | |
| 11:05–12:40 | Session 2 – Mechanosensitive Ion Channels and Cellular Mechanobiology Chair: Maté Biro |
|
| 11:05–11:25 | Multiscale mechanobiology: linking molecular force sensing to cellular function | Kate Poole Invited Talk |
| 11:25–11:45 | Mechanosensitive channel diversity: multiple pores or multiple partners? | Charles Cox Invited Talk |
| 11:45–12:05 | Electromechanics of the cochlear amplifier | Navid Bavi Invited Talk |
| 12:05–12:25 | N-glycans of epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) have different roles for the sensation and transduction of (shear) force | Martin Fronius Invited Talk |
| 12:25–12:40 | Mechanical stress and Yap1 signalling during heart valve morphogenesis | Renee Chow Invited Talk |
| 12:40–14:00 | Lunch and AuSMB Annual General Meeting | |
| 14:00–15:50 | Session 3 – Tissue, Vascular and Multiscale Mechanobiology Chair: Sarah Boyle |
|
| 14:00–14:20 | Connecting organ-level mechanics and cellular mechanobiology using image-guided models and experimental discovery | Kathryn Stok Invited Talk |
| 14:20–14:40 | A novel pathway controlling endothelial adhesion heterogeneity | Anne Lagendijk Invited Talk |
| 14:40–15:00 | Mechanobiology of blood: multiscale properties of blood and effects on cell-poor layer | Michael J. Simmonds Invited Talk |
| 15:00–15:20 | Mechanoimmunology of cytotoxic lymphocytes in the solid tumour microenvironment | Maté Biro Invited Talk |
| 15:20–15:35 | Shear stress triggers monocyte extracellular traps: a mechanosensitive link to aortic valve disease | Habiba Danish Abstract Talk |
| 15:35–15:50 | Chondroitin sulphate enrichment drives endothelial dysfunction and immune crosstalk in an engineered model of calcific aortic valve disease | Yasmin Mirza Alikhan Abstract Talk |
| 15:50–16:20 | Afternoon Tea | |
| 16:20–17:20 | Workshop Activity – Perspectives on Mechanobiology in Australia Chair: Jess Frith and Sara Baratchi |
|
| 17:20–18:00 | Panel Discussion – Emerging Challenges and Opportunities in Mechanobiology Chair: Qian Peter Su Kathryn Stok, Anne Lagendijk, Sarah Boyle, Maté Biro |
|
| Evening | Workshop Dinner | Cairo By Nights, Carlton | |
Day 2
Thursday, 12 November 2026 | The Studio at Melbourne Connect, Location: Ground Floor (Level G), Melbourne Connect (Building 291), 700 Swanston Street, Carlton VIC 3053
Day Chairs: Charles Cox and Austin Lai
| Time | Session / Presentation | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00–10:20 | Session 4 – Engineering, Biomaterials and Emerging Technologies in Mechanobiology Chair: Anne Lagendijk |
|
| 09:00–09:20 | Bioengineering systems to study mechanobiology | Jess Frith Invited Talk |
| 09:20–09:40 | Sonomechanobiology: a new field of high-frequency cell mechanostimulation | Leslie Yeo Invited Talk |
| 09:40–10:00 | Quantifying bioenergetics of cell mechanics using bond graphs | Vijayaraghavan Rajagopal Invited Talk |
| 10:00–10:20 | TRPV4 as a mito-modulator: linking mechano to metabolism | Nicholas Veldhuis Invited Talk |
| 10:20–10:50 | Morning Tea | |
| 10:50–12:42 | Session 5 – Selected Abstract and Poster Flash Talks Chair: Vijayaraghavan Rajagopal |
|
| 10:50–11:10 | AI-designed mechanosensitive VWF inhibitors selectively suppress high-shear thrombosis in patient-specific carotid physical twins | Arnold Lining Ju Invited Talk |
| 11:10–11:30 | A mechanical model of multicellular remodelling, due to applied force, in epithelial monolayers | James Osborne Invited Talk |
| 11:30–11:50 | Visualizing the interplay of physical, chemical and biological dynamics in living cells | Qian Peter Su Invited Talk |
| 11:50–12:05 | Patient-specific carotid artery-on-a-chip “physical twin” dissects complex flow-dependent VWF mechanopresentation | Christina Mansour Abstract Talk |
| 12:05–12:20 | Living under pressure: from force sensing to force survival | Yao Wang Abstract Talk |
| 12:20–12:35 | Plaque Architecture-Based Mechanical and Spatial Transcriptomic Analyses Reveal Fibrous Cap Stiffness as a Key Driver of IFN-γ-Mediated Immune Responses in Atherosclerosis | Yunkun Qu Abstract Talk |
| 12:35–12:42 | Investigating a pressure–SRC–cytoskeleton–YAP axis in vascular smooth muscle cell phenotypic switching | Ning Wang Poster Flash Talk |
| 12:42–13:30 | Lunch | |
| 13:30–14:19 | Session 6 – Immune, Cancer and Disease Mechanobiology Chair: Arnold Lining Ju |
|
| 13:30–13:50 | Feeling the squeeze: consequences of mechanical stress in mammary cancer | Sarah Boyle Invited Talk |
| 13:50–14:05 | PIEZO2 ion channel-dependent biomechanical regulation of cardiac fibrosis post-myocardial infarction | Farzaneh Omidkhoda Abstract Talk |
| 14:05–14:12 | In situ visualisation of cartilage uncovers how matrix deformation translates macroscopic loads to cellular cues | Cecily Xi Chen Poster Flash Talk |
| 14:12–14:19 | Atrial fibrillation-associated TRPM4 pore variants differentially regulate channel activity and PIEZO1-dependent mechanosignalling | Lautaro Pons Poster Flash Talk |
| 14:19–14:40 | Afternoon Tea | |
| 14:40–15:40 | Planning the Book – Mechanobiology in Australia Chair: Boris Martinac
|
|
| 15:40 | Closing Remarks | Charles Cox |