Abstract: Cell migration through complex tissue barriers is a key driving force behind essential life processes such as embryonic development and immune homeostasis as well as pathological conditions such as inflammation and cancer metastasis. Within a living organism, cells do not migrate in isolation and hence understanding the mechanical and biochemical interactions between the migrating cells and the surrounding environment is crucial in understanding cell migration in vivo. We use the migration of Drosophila melanogaster macrophages (hemocytes) during embryonic development to answer these fundamental questions. We currently focus on two broad areas of research. One is aimed at understanding the intrinsic and extrinsic cues, both chemical and mechanical, that drive macrophage migration. We are also interested in how the migrating macrophages themselves sculpt the embryonic tissues around them. Drosophila embryos provide an excellent model system where we can combine genetic manipulations with quantitative live imaging, biophysical tools and mathematical modelling.

Biography: Following her PhD at the Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai where she studied mechanisms involved in melanoma metastasis, Aparna did a brief post-doctoral stint with Prof. Alpha Yap at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Brisbane, looking at the role of small GTPases in maintaining junctional integrity and cortical tension. Aparna then joined the Institute of Science and Technology, Austria where she was a Marie Curie Fellow to study the mechanics of invasive migration in Drosophila Melanogaster embryos. In October 2018 Aparna joined the Warwick Medical School and Centre for Mechanochemical Cell Biology as an Assistant Professor where she established her research group and continues to study mechanisms driving invasive migration.