Come see us at ICMMB 2026 in Singapore!
Event Summary
From 6 to 8 October 2026, Mariana Otoya and Chloé Techens are representing the group at the 24th International Conference on Mechanics in Medicine and Biology (ICMMB 2026), held at the Academia, SGH Campus, in Singapore.
They are presenting two complementary contributions on how the mechanical environment of vascular smooth muscle cells can be characterized and controlled. If you are attending, come and meet them!
Poster by Mariana Otoya (Submission ID 32)
Development of custom indentation and uniaxial traction frameworks for the mechanical characterization of low-density anisotropic collagen hydrogels
Mariana Otoya, Chloé Techens, Jean-Marc Allain — Laboratoire de Mécanique des Solides, École polytechnique
Vascular smooth muscle cells constantly probe and remodel the collagen-rich scaffold that surrounds them, and the anisotropy of this extracellular matrix plays a key role in their behaviour. To characterize this remodeling mechanically, Mariana presents the frameworks she developed to fabricate reproducible isotropic and anisotropic collagen gels and to test them at different spatial scales using:
- Indentation, with contact geometry measured by Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT);
- Uniaxial traction, on reinforced “dog-bone” shaped samples;
- Rheology (time, strain and frequency sweeps).
Presentation by Chloé Techens
Magnetically actuated hydrogels for mechanically stimulating smooth muscle cells
Guillaume Lafitte, Jules Introvigne, Jean Boisson, Chloé Techens — Laboratoire de Mécanique des Solides, École polytechnique & LMI, ENSTA
Chloé presents the latest developments in the design of magnetic hydrogels that can be remotely controlled and activated to mechanically stimulate smooth muscle cells in 3D. This project is carried out in collaboration with Jean Boisson (LMI, ENSTA).