Event
CHBE Seminar: Dr. Maria Mukhina, UMD
Friday, September 11, 2026
11:00 a.m.
Room 2108 Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Bldg.
Patricia Lorenzana
301-405-1935
plorenza@umd.edu
In Situ Observation of Compressive Forces Experienced by DNA Loci in the Nucleus of Living HeLa Cell
Abstract: The bigger question that inspires my work is how the global mechanics of chromosomes is related to functional outputs of the genome. It is very hard, if not impossible, to reconstruct the genome in vitro. Therefore, we need new approaches to quantify and visualize intracellular forces with nanoscale precision, over micron-scale distances, and in their physiological context. My lab applies nanotechnologies to measure forces acting within and among chromosomes, with a focus on chromosome-wide mechanical patterning and its contributions to genome function. In this talk, I will discuss two nanosensors, which we are developing to enable quantitative luminescent imaging of mechanical effects in situ. The first sensor is based on the phenomenon of mechanoluminescence, i.e., emission of light triggered by mechanical deformation. Since no photoexcitation is needed, this approach is free of autofluorescent background and phototoxicity. The second sensor represents a dynamic DNA nanostructure, which changes the color of photoexcited luminescence in response to the applied force. When attached to the chromosomes, these sensors report a five-dimensional (F,x,y,z,t) map of bending, compressive, and tensile intracellular forces. I will discuss the application of the sensors to elucidate how cells synchronize and orchestrate global changes to ensure accurate segregation of chromosome copies in preparation for cell division. Finally, I will put our work into a broader context by outlining how intracellular force mapping can provide the basis for understanding the roles direct mechanical patterning, without any biochemical intermediates, plays in the operation of large subcellular machines in health and disease.
Bio: Maria Mukhina received a PhD degree in Optics (2013) from ITMO University (Saint Petersburg, Russia) where she investigated the physics of anisotropic and chiral nanocrystals. This work was supported by the Scholarship of the President of the Russian Federation for Young Scientists and Graduate Students. In 2016, Dr. Mukhina started her postdoctoral appointment at Harvard University where she worked on intracellular force sensing as applied to the mechanics of chromosomes. Dr. Mukhina joined the Department of Physics of the University of Maryland, College Park (USA) as an Assistant Professor in 2024. She is a recipient of NIH MIRA award for early stage investigators. Her research relies on nanobiotechnology, materials science, and new microscopy techniques to elucidate the mechanics of the genome.
