Embryogenesis, the process by which an embryo acquires a shape and an organisation, is a fascinating stage of the life of multicellular organisms in which the genetic programme harnesses mechanical forces to achieve controlled large-scale deformations of the tissues. One key step on this way is the gastrulation, which corresponds to the geometric separation of tissues with different genetic fate.
In the Drosophila embryo, this process starts by a single layer of cells (an epithelium) forming of a longitudinal fold which deepens and closes before it seals at the outer surface. Through mechanical modelling, we have shown that one of the mechanisms by which this fold forms is the buckling of the epithelium under the action of anisotropic internal stress [Fierling et al, 2022]. We now want to give a mechanical understanding of the process by which this fold deepens.
Through mechanical perturbations of the embryo, we show that the outer surface of the embryo engages in an adhesive interaction across the fold. The objective of this Master's project is to perform numerical simulations of the dynamics of folding and self-adhesion. The simulations will be based on an existing python environment, ACAM [Nestor-Bergmann et al, 2022], allowing to simulate the mechanical behaviour of viscoelastic structures and the dynamics of adhesion.
References
[1] J. Fierling et al, Embryo-scale epithelial buckling forms a propagating furrow that initiates gastrulation, Nature Comms (2022)[2] A. Nestor-Bergmann et al, Adhesion-regulated junction slippage controls cell intercalation dynamics in an Apposed-Cortex Adhesion Model, PLOS Comput. Biol. (2022)
[3] A. Jallon, P. Recho and J. Etienne, Mechanics and Thermodynamics of Contractile Entropic Biopolymer Networks, J Elast 157(1):487 (2025)
[4] A. Tanari, A. Jallon, J. Etienne and M. Rauzi, Ectoderm tensile stress controls mesoderm internalization during embryo Nature Comms (2026)
Application details
The successful applicant will work under the supervision of Jocelyn Etienne at LIPhy (Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Physics – Grenoble, France) in the “MC2” team, in collaboration with Dr. P. Recho, Dr. K. John and Dr. A. Erlich. He/she will also interact strongly with Matteo Rauzi (CNRS - Univ Côte d'Azur, Nice).Email me to apply. Please include recent transcripts and relevant internship reports with your application.
Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire de Physique (LIPHY) is located in Grenoble. Grenoble is the unique conjunction of a well-established university city with world-class research groups, within a breathtaking mountain landscape. LIPHY is a Physics department, but is highly interdisciplinary with many mechanicists, applied mathematicians and biologists working there as staff, post-docs or graduate students.