Congratulations to HAMM Lab graduate student, Dr. Abby Nagle, for completing her final exam on May 15th 2025! Abby, who is co-mentored by Jennifer Davis at UW, capitalized on an array of methodologies available from the HAMM Lab, Davis Lab, and UW Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine and engineered new tools to explore complex relationships among cellular forces. These include forces generated by contractile cells, forces that anchor and adhere cells to their substrates, and forces that act on elastic substrates. These new tools allowed Abby to ask examine how diverse forces shape cellular shape and function and have paved the way for future research into the importance of these forces on disease development and/or cellular regeneration

Keep an eye out for forthcoming studies on the spatial distribution of adhesion forces in cardiomyocytes!