Exploring Brain Mechanics
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ebmresearch.bsky.social
Exploring Brain Mechanics
@ebmresearch.bsky.social
Official account of the Collaborative Research Center (CRC 1540) Exploring Brain 🧠 Mechanics funded by @dfgpublic.bsky.social

@fau.de
Charité Berlin
Universität Bonn
MPI Light

Homepage: https://www.crc1540-ebm.research.fau.eu/
🧠 The EBM community gathered in Muggendorf for our 2025 Annual Retreat - two days of scientific exchange, collaboration, and new ideas.

Researchers and PIs shared progress, explored future directions, and strengthened connections across projects.
November 14, 2025 at 11:21 AM
On October 13th, EBM Spokesperson Paul Steinmann led a hands-on workshop on stiffness and viscosity. Participants explored force, strain, and stress using rubber bands, springs, and even a gummy-bear brain, making complex concepts tangible.
November 7, 2025 at 11:07 AM
What a night at the Long Night of Sciences 2025!
EBM and BRAINIACS group welcomed visitors at the Brain Lounge to explore how mechanics shapes the brain - from real human tissue to 3D printing and MRE. At the department of neurosurgery, visitors were guided trough the MEG lab.
October 31, 2025 at 12:36 PM
EBM at the Long Night of Science 2025 - Discover Brain Mechanics! 🧠 #NdW25

📅 25.10.2025 from 17:00 - 0:00
📍Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin; Kussmaulallee 2 in 91054 Erlangen
October 21, 2025 at 3:59 AM
🧠 The International EBM Symposium 2025 was held on Sept 30 - Oct 1, 2025, at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Erlangen.
October 17, 2025 at 2:12 PM
☀️ On Sept 28, EBM members & families met at the Entlas-Keller in Erlangen. Sunshine, Franconian food, and good company made for a relaxed afternoon to reconnect after summer and recharge before the busy months ahead. Thanks to all who came by! 🍻
October 2, 2025 at 11:40 AM
At the 15th EBM (Post)Doctoral Researchers' seminar on September 18th, two projects were presented.

🧠 Stefan Rampp (A02) presented how cortical malformations can be characterized by neuroimaging and linking these findings to brain tissue mechanics.
September 29, 2025 at 3:59 AM
We are proud to announce that our PI, Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini, has received the prestigious George Winter Award from the European Society for Biomaterials (ESB), honoring pioneers whose work has made lasting contributions to biomaterials.
September 19, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Upcoming EBM Virtual Brain Talk 🧠

We are excited to announce our next virtual brain talk:
"There and back again - The translational journey in modern Neurosurgery"

Speaker: Prof. Dr.med. Oliver Schnell (UKER, Germany)
📅 22.09.2025
⏰ 4:00 PM (CEST)
💻 Online via Zoom
September 15, 2025 at 8:25 AM
In our project C01, we proposed a nonlinear continuum mechanics framework to model the physics of cellular aggregate formation.
September 12, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Using genetic manipulations, project B05 investigates a link between the mechanical and biochemical properties of spinal cord lesions and axon regeneration in zebrafish.
September 5, 2025 at 11:06 AM
In project B04, we study the impact of mechanobiology on the pathology of multiple sclerosis (MS). The mechanosensory ion channel Piezo1 (red) is upregulated on astrocytes (green) in a mouse model of MS.
August 29, 2025 at 12:16 PM
B03 aims to investigate the mechanical phenotype of the central nervous system (CNS) at the cellular and tissue-wide levels following targeted manipulations, utilizing in vivo and in vitro models.
August 25, 2025 at 5:14 AM
B02 focuses on understanding the mechanical properties of the spinal cord in Xenopus laevis using advanced techniques such as atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Brillouin microscopy.
August 15, 2025 at 9:33 AM
🧠 A new exciting paper from our EBM scientists: In this study, a brain phantom material was characterized in the time domain using a rheometer in the mid-frequency range at a vibration table and in the high-frequency range with tabletop magnetic resonance elastography.
August 8, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Project B01 aims to understand the complex mechanical signature of spinal cord tissue before and after injury to develop continuum models that simulate the process of successful regeneration.
August 1, 2025 at 11:53 AM
In vivo model to study the mechanics of developmental brain disorders: Project A05 investigates how specific somatic mutations affect the mechanical properties of developing brain tissue.
July 25, 2025 at 9:36 AM
🧠On June 26, 2025, a hands-on workshop led by Renato Frischknecht explored the molecular and cellular mechanisms of neuronal plasticity. From theory to live cell culture demos and fluorescence imaging,participants gained deep insight into how neurons adapt and learn. #Neuroscience#NeuronalPlasticity
July 18, 2025 at 11:09 AM
📢 Regular Registration Open – EBM Symposium 2025

There’s still time to register for the Exploring Brain Mechanics Symposium 2025, taking place from September 30 to October 1, 2025, at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Erlangen, Germany.
July 11, 2025 at 8:56 AM
The EBM project A04 investigates how manipulating mechanical forces affects the lineage decision of stem cells in human brain organoids, utilizing methods such as atomic force microscopy (AFM).
July 4, 2025 at 11:12 AM
🧠 Doctoral Reseachers' Seminar June 2025
Last Friday, 13th June, against the back drop of Erlangen's traditional Bergkirchweih festival, Maik Hintze (B04) and Rahul Ramachandran (B01) shared their latest findings in the 14th EBM doctoral researcher's seminar.
June 27, 2025 at 10:45 AM
🧠 On May 22, EBM researchers from projects A01, A02, A05, and C03 gathered at the Neuropathology Department of @Universitätsklinikum Erlangen for a lab shadowing session organized by Prof. Ingmar Blümcke.
June 20, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Oskar Neumann (project B01) finished a month-long secondment in Prof Franz’s Mechanobiology Lab @UCT 🇿🇦
June 13, 2025 at 7:28 AM
🧠 Great discussions at the EBM (Post-)Doctoral Seminar on April 25 at MPZPM!
June 6, 2025 at 7:40 AM
🧠 Today! EBM Virtual Brain Mechanics Talk – June 2, 2025

Don’t miss today’s talk in the EBM Virtual Brain Mechanics Talk series:

🎙️ Title: Cellular Aggregates as Active Materials
👤 Speaker: Prof. Dr. Vasily Zaburdaev (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg)
🕓 Time: 4:00 PM (GMT+2)
June 2, 2025 at 7:26 AM