Master Thesis Microfabrication and Biophysics at EPFL

Master Thesis offer on Microfabrication and Biophysics at EPFL, Switzerland (paid)

The Cell Dynamics and Fragmentation Laboratory is a newly established research group at EPFL led by Juan Manuel Garcia-Arcos, hosted at the unit of Pierre Gönczy. Our research aims to uncover how cells shed large biologically active fragments. This phenomenon occurs in cancer progression, immune cell behavior, and developmental processes, yet the underlying mechanical and molecular principles remain largely unexplored.

Objective: Investigate how nanoscale topographical cues guide the migration of cancer cells that rely on bleb-driven motility. Preliminary unpublished results indicate that nanofabricated ridges and grooves can steer blebby cancer cells in opposite directions depending on their migration mode and cytoskeletal organization. The aim of this project is to complete this study for publication, by expanding the dataset, refining the substrates, and quantitatively analyzing how nanotopographies modulate bleb formation, polarity, and guidance.

Approaches: Fabrication of nanostructured substrates using accessible and low‑cost micro‑fabrication approaches; culture and imaging of cancer cells exhibiting bleb-based motility; live‑cell imaging (phase contrast, confocal, and TIRF as needed); quantitative trajectory and morphology analysis using Image

J/FIJI and Python; perturbation experiments to test cytoskeletal or membrane‑tension mechanisms underlying guidance responses.

Ideal for students in: Life Sciences, Bioengineering, Microengineering, Biophysics.