Epithelial monolayers are soft thin sheets which shape the body and organs of many multi-cellular organisms. Competition between stretching and bending characterizes shape transitions of thin elastic sheets. While stretching dominates the mechanical response in tension, bending dominates in compression after an abrupt buckling transition. As opposed to inert materials, epithelial monolayers generate endogenous ATP-dependent forces, which translate into in-plane tension and active torques due to the polarization of myosin II molecular motors. Here, I will discuss the dialog between in-plane and out-of-plane forces in cultured epithelial monolayers devoid of substrate and suspended between parallel plates.

I will then present the new project I am developing here at the LBD on the multi-scale mechanics of soft fibrous tissues.