Cellular Mechanosensing and Functional Microscopy Centre

What we do

Our research focuses on fostering a collaborative environment where cutting-edge technologies, broad scientific principles, and specialized expertise are shared among leaders in studying mechano-sensing, mechano-transduction, and associated signalling pathways. We use this knowledge to promote cross-disciplinary collaboration, enabling our biologists, engineers, and theoretical scientists to address major challenges in mechano-biology through the integration of ideas and expertise.


The Centre is built on three main pillars:
1. The sharing and advancement of new technologies
2. The development of applications and solutions with significant biological and clinical impact
3. The creation of enriched educational experiences for students within our research groups, enhancing their learning environment and future contributions to the field

Why is it important?

Understanding how cells sense and respond to mechanical forces is essential for uncovering the fundamental principles that govern health and disease. The Cellular Mechanosensing and Functional Microscopy Centre (CMFM) addresses a critical need for core technologies that allow researchers to monitor and investigate these processes in detail.

Our work supports the use and development of advanced tools, including scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM), nanopillars, nanotweezers, and multimodal microscopy, to study how cells and tissues behave under mechanical influence. These technologies help reveal how cells function, interact, and adapt in real time, which has major implications for areas such as cancer research, cardiovascular health, and tissue engineering.

One key example is SICM, a technique in which UK researchers, particularly those at Imperial College London, are global leaders. Developed over the past 15 years by the Gorelik and Korchev groups, SICM enables high-resolution, non-invasive imaging of living cells. CMFM serves as a hub to expand the use of SICM across the College and with national and international collaborators, broadening access to this powerful tool and accelerating scientific discovery.

Through our efforts, CMFM is enabling a deeper understanding of cellular mechanics, ultimately contributing to advances in diagnostics, therapeutics, and regenerative medicine.

Impact of our research

Our research has had a wide-ranging impact across science, healthcare, and education. The Centre for Mechanobiology and Functional Measurement (CMFM) contributes in the following key ways:

  • Advancing scientific collaboration: By promoting the dynamic exchange of ideas and personnel among research groups, CMFM fosters interdisciplinary partnerships that accelerate innovation and discovery.
  • Strengthening research output: Our collaborative environment has led to joint publications and competitive grant applications, amplifying the broader scientific impact of our work.
  • Bridging disciplines for biomedical progress: We connect experts in advanced imaging and sensing technologies (such as SICM) with biologists studying how mechanical forces affect cellular behaviour. These collaborations are critical for uncovering mechanisms behind diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disorders, and neurodegeneration.
  • Supporting clinical translation and public understanding: Through seminars and workshops, we raise awareness of cutting-edge technologies in mechanobiology. These activities aim to contribute to long-term improvements in patient care, diagnostics, and public health.

By enabling deeper insights into how cells respond to their physical environment, CMFM supports the discovery of new mechanism, development of more targeted therapies, and earlier disease detection, ultimately benefiting patients and society at large.

Key info

Current research

The Centre embraces a broad research theme: localised cell signalling in nanodomains and mechano-sensing at the cellular and tissue levels. It covers strategic priorities across various funding agencies (EPSCRC, BBSRC and MRC) and is ideally aligned to their funding strategies. This provides a platform for the development of new multiplex tools and technologies and cross-faculty initiatives in functional imaging of living cells and tissues.

  1. MRes BMR project 2025 Mar-Sept rotation- ‘Identify the membrane transverse tubule remodelling dynamics during heart failure using novel fluorescent imaging techniques.'
    Supervisors - Professor Julia Gorelik- NHLI; Dr Andriy Shevchuk- Department of Metabolism, IC.
  2. MRes BMR project 2025 Mar-Sept rotation- “Nanomechanics of endothelial cells and its impact on cardiovascular disease”. Supervisors – Dr Graeme Birdsey- NHLI; Dr Andriy Shevchuk- Department of Metabolism, IC. This project is directly attributable to the Centre. Based on the results from the MRes project, we will use these for pilot data to support a project grant application (either to BHF or BBSRC) in the near future.
  3. Project “Role of a new LTCC inhibitory peptide in cardiomyocyte arrhythmogenesis.” Dr
    Jose L Sanchez Alonso-Mardones-NHLI; Dr. Ivan Kadurin (QMLU)
  4. Project “Gene-targeting of NOS1AP in human IPSC-derived cardiomyocytes from patients with long QT syndrome type I. Dr Jose L Sanchez Alonso-Mardones-NHLI; Dr. Neda Mohammadi and Prof. David Paterson (Oxford University)
  5. Project “Study of GLP-1R - KATP - LTCC channel signalling hotspots in β cells.” Dr Jose L Sanchez Alonso-Mardones-NHLI: Dr. Alejandra Tomas Catala - (Department of Metabolism. IC)
Key publications
  1. Mohammadi N, Fedele L, Chakravarthy P, Leonov V, Tsansizi L, Gu H, Seyedmousavi S, Cosson MV, Bernardo AS, Gorelik J, Sanchez-Alonso JL. (2025) Sympathetic neurons can modify the intrinsic structural and functional properties of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. J Physiol. Feb 26. doi: 10.1113/JP287569.
  2. Jiarong Fu, Catherine Mansfield, Ivan Diakonov, Aleksandra Judina, Matthew Delahaye, Navneet Bhogal, Jose L. Sanchez-Alonso, Timothy Kamp, Julia Gorelik (2024) Stretch regulation of β2-Adrenoceptor signalling in cardiomyocytes requires caveolae. Cardiovasc Res, Feb 13:cvae265. doi: 10.1093/cvr/cvae265.
  3. Kwan Z, Paulose Nadappuram B, Leung MM, Mohagaonkar S, Li A, Amaradasa KS, Chen J, Rothery S, Kibreab I, Fu J, Sanchez-Alonso JL, Mansfield CA, Subramanian H, Kondrashov A, Wright PT, Swiatlowska P, Nikolaev VO, Wojciak-Stothard B, Ivanov AP, Edel JB, Gorelik J. (2023) Microtubule-Mediated Regulation of β2AR Translation and Function in Failing Hearts. Circ Res. 133(11):944-958. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.123.323174.
  4. Yi, Long; Jiang, Tao; Ren, Ren; Cao, Ji; Edel, Joshua B; Ivanov, Aleksandar P; Tang, Longhua; Quantum Mechanical Tunnelling Probes with Redox Cycling for Ultra‐Sensitive Detection of Biomolecules ; Angew Chem Int Ed Engl2025 Jun 2;64(23):e202501941. doi: 10.1002/anie.202501941
  5. Sahota, Annie; Paulose Nadappuram, Binoy; Kwan, Zoe; Lesept, Flavie; Howden, Jack H; Claxton, Suzanne; Kittler, Josef T; Devine, Michael J; Edel, Joshua B; Ivanov, Aleksandar P; Spatial and temporal single-cell profiling of RNA compartmentalization in neurons with nanotweezers; ACS Nano 2025 May 20;19(19):18522-18533. Epub 2025 May 6. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.5c02056. 
  6. Long, Liquan; Johnson, Joshua A; Ren, Ren; Di Michele, Lorenzo; Edel, Joshua B; Ivanov, Aleksandar P; Reconfigurable DNA origami hinges for nanopore detection of microRNA; Nano Research, 2025, doi: 10.26599/NR.2025.94907604
Current funders

Funded Interdisciplinary Grants, Fellowships and grants in submissions

  1. CRUK CSC-ICB CDT funded PhD Studentship project starting in Oct 2025, titled “The effect of mechanical stress on radiation-induced cancer cell death investigated using molecular rotor technology”. The supervisors are Marina Kuimova (Chemistry, ICL), Emma Harris (Institute of Cancer Research), Graeme Birdsey (NHLI, ICL), and Navita Somaiah (ICR and the Royal Marsden).
  2. BHF NHLI PhD Studentship “Novel platform for the detection of circulating biomarkers of heart failure” (2024-2028) Supervisors -Professor Julia Gorelik - NHLI, Professor Joshua Edel- Chemistry Department and Dr Fu Siong Ng- NHLI, IC.
  3. China Council Imperial Scholarship “The roles of microtubules in cardiac βAR transcripts allocation and cAMP signalling.”- Supervisors -Professor Julia Gorelik - NHLI, Dr Alex Ivanov - Chemistry Department, IC.
  4. HTCC studentship “Single-Molecule Biosensing Using Nanopore-Based Techniques” Supervisors- Professor Joshua Edel, Dr Alex Ivanov - Chemistry Department, Professor Yuri Korchev- Department of Metabolism, IC.
  5. MRes/PhD studentship funded by Oxford Nanopore Technologies and the institute of chemical biology.“Highly multiplexed detection of biomarkers using nanopore sequencing and machine learning employing a Hidden Markov Model” Supervisors- Professor Joshua Edel, Dr Alex Ivanov- Chemistry Department, Nadia Guerra -Department of Life Science.
  6. MRC London Intercollegiate Doctoral Training Partnership (MRC LID) Studentship
    “A new approach to understanding the role of tumour microenvironment in anticancer drug resistance” Dr Elena Sviderskaya (CSG) & Professor Yuri Korchev (Imperial College London) & Dr Kenneth Laing (CSG)
  7. Special Interdisciplinary Grants BHF- ready for submission - Outline application was supported “Novel platform for the detection of circulating biomarkers of cardiac remodelling in heart failure” PI- Professor Julia Gorelik NHLI, Co-PI- Professor Joshua Edel, Dr Alex Ivanov- Department of Chemistry, Dr Fu Siong Ng, Professor Sanjay Prasad- NHLI, IC.