The ASR is excited to announce AMAR 2026 plenary speaker!

Associate Professor Kate Poole
Medicine & Health, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of New South Wales

Title: Force sensing via ion channels: a cellular sense of touch?

Abstract:

Human physiology is highly regulated by mechanical cues: the individual cells that make up our bodies can sense and respond to the physical properties of their microenvironment via mechanotransduction pathways that convert mechanical inputs into electrochemical/biochemical signals that modulate cell function. An initial activation of molecular force sensors can trigger alterations in cellular mechanics, cell behaviour and cell function. Our research focuses on a specific class of molecular force sensor, the mechanosensitive ion channels. With a broad expression pattern across diverse cells and tissues, mechanosensitive ion channels are emerging as key regulators of force sensing in a broad set of physiological processes, in a highly context-dependent manner. Specific mechanosensitive ion channels exhibit by unique, but overlapping response profiles that suggest cells may be able to sense and distinguish externally applied forces, changes in the mechanics of the cellular microenvironment or cell-generated forces. However, there are many gaps in our understanding of the diversity of force sensing via these ion channels, and the impact of disrupting their function. This talk will focus on the use of cancer cells to identify new mechanosensitive ion channels, characterise how their sensitivity is impacted by the mechanics of the cellular microenvironment and how disrupting their function influences cancer cell mechanobiology, including changes in cell attachment forces and cellular mechanics.

Bio:

Dr. Kate Poole is interested in how cells can "feel" their surroundings. Her research seeks to identify how cells sense and respond to changing mechanical inputs by identifying the molecules that can convert forces into electrical or biochemical signals that influence cell behaviour. Her research team is focused on two streams of research 1) characterising force sensing in cancer cells and 2) investigating what happens to our cells in microgravity (when the influence of Earth's gravity is ablated).

We are looking forward to hearing from Kate’s about her use of rheology in the field of biomedicine!