Cytoskeletal networks form the internal dynamic scaffold of living cells essential for key cellular processes, such as cell division, cell motility or morphogenesis. Our aim is to understand how the individual structural elements of the cytoskeleton mechanically cooperate to drive these cellular processes.

We use two main strategies, a bottom-up approach – reconstituting elements of the cytoskeletal networks from individual components in vitro and a top-down approach – deconstructing the networks in vivo. We use genetic manipulations, biochemical and biophysical methods and mathematical modeling. Central to our approach are imaging and force measurement techniques with single molecule resolution.

Our lab is located in the Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences at the BIOCEV research center. We are part of the Cytoskeleton Consortium Prague and Topical Partner Cluster “Cytoskeletal Dynamics Across Scales” of the Dresden International Graduate School for Biomedicine and Bioengineering (DIGS-BB). Our research is led by two principal investigators, Zdenek Lansky and Marcus Braun.