Ruprecht Karls Universität Heidelberg

Research

The Schwarz group works on a wide range of subjects in soft matter and biological physics, but most of them are related to the mechanics and adhesion of biological cells. Here we provide introductions to some of our activities, sometimes even including a historical perspective on how these subjects have developed. For each subject, we point to some selected publications from our group, most importantly to our reviews. For a complete list of our publications, please visit our publications page. Below you also find a list of press items that covered our published work.

Current activities

Earlier activities

Press items

  • We contributed a bit of theory on microtubule growth to recent work by the Frischknecht lab on the importance of shape stabilization for malaria infections. Read more about their work as HFSP news item and as press release by the university clinics.
  • In a broad collaboration between virology, cell biology, image processing, biophysics and mathematical biology in the context of the collaborative research center 1129, we were able to show that in the physiological environment of dense collagen gels, HIV-1 spreads mainly by direct cell-cell contacts. The theory part included SIR-type kinetic modeling of virus spread and a Cellular Potts Model for spatial spread in environments with obstacles. Read more in the corresponding press release by Heidelberg University (German version).
  • In recognition of World Malaria Day on April 25 2018, the Biophysical Journal Blog has reported on our joint work with the Frischknecht group on the physics of the malaria parasite.
  • Recently optogenetics has emerged as a promising new tool to control biological cells in time and space by engineering light-sensitive molecules into their decision circuits. In a collaboration with one of the pioneers of non-neuronal optogenetics, Prof. Michael Glotzer from Chicago, and his biophysics colleagues Prof. Patrick Oakes and Prof. Margaret Gardel, we have used this new method to activate and measure cellular forces. Read more in the corresponding press release by Heidelberg University (German version).
  • In order to predict the behaviour of single cells as well as of cell collective in structured environments, we have developed a new version of the Cellular Potts Model that allows us to simulate how cells dynamically position themselves on two-dimensional adhesive substrates. This work was performed by Dr. Philipp Albert, financed by the EU-project MEHTRICS and published in the high-ranking journal PLOS Computational Biology. Read more in the corresponding press release by Heidelberg University (German version).
  • Video recording of a talk given at a workshop on growth in biological systems at Banff International Research Station, Canada, July 23 2012.
  • Our joint work with the Small group on the organization of the actin cytoskeleton in the lamellipodium of migrating keratocytes was included by Cytometry A when highlightning new papers in this issue.
  • The Schwarz group is part of the EU FP7 project MEHTRICS on combining RNAi and micropatterns techniques for cell-based high-throughput screens. Read more in the press release by the University of Heidelberg (in German) and in the press release by our SME partners (in English).
  • The PhD-work of Julian Weichsel has resulted in a publication in PNAS which has been covered by a press release by the University of Heidelberg. Based on stochastic network simulations and a rate equation approach, this theory work makes suggestions how to clarifiy conflicting results obtained earlier with experiments on growing actin networks.
  • Our joint work with the Kraeusslich group on high throughput characterization of the actin cytoskeleton was included by Cytometry A when highlightning new papers in this issue.
  • Our joint work with the Frischknecht group on malaria parasite migration published in Cell Host Microbe 2009 was covered by a press release by the Medical School.
  • The appointment of Ulrich Schwarz at Karlsruhe has been covered by the local newspaper, the Badische Neueste Nachrichten (BNN), on September 4 2008 and December 9 2008.
  • One of our papers has been selected for a research highlight by Europhysics News in 2007.
  • In April 2007, the BIOQUANT-building has been opened and a brochure on the BIOQUANT-initiative has been published. It contains two articles related to our work: one on the BIOMS-group Schwarz and one on cell adhesion in general.
  • A news item on our group has appeared in April 2007 in the local newspaper (Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung).
  • A news item (English) has been published in Biomedical Computation Review on our work on cell adhesion in hydrodynamic flow. There is also a press release on this work (October 2006, German): MPG press release and Heidelberg University press release.
  • Read up an interesting discussion on the web on our work on cell adhesion under flow (is it adequate to model cells as porcupines ?). Click here for the weblink.
  • Here is a PDF file with a comment (instant insight) we wrote for Chemical Biology on rigidity sensing (Feb 2007). Click here for the weblink.
  • Research in the Schwarz-group: press release Wenn sich Zellen breit machen by Heidelberg University (February 2006, PDF, in German)
  • Our research on rolling adhesion: Press release (April 2004, PDF, in German), article in Max-Planck-Forschung (2/2004, PDF, in German), article in Max Planck Research (3/2004, PDF, in English)
  • Our research on cells in soft media: Press release (Aug 2003, PDF, in German), article in Max-Planck-Forschung (4/2003, PDF, in German), article in Max Planck Research (1/2004, PDF, in English)
  • Description of our research for MPI biannual report 2003 - 2004 (PDF)
  • Description of our research for MPG Jahrbuch 2003 (printed PDF, in German, fig. 4 missing, complete PDF)
  • Description of our research for MPI biannual report 2001 - 2002 (PDF)
  • MP3-file of a radio broadcast (Inforadio Sept 2003) on the MPI of Colloids and Interfaces, including our work on cell adhesion (in German)
  • Text of a radio broadcast (Deutschlandfunk Nov 2002) on the role of geometry in science, including a report on our work on cubic phases (in German)
  • What is nanobiotech ? (in German, written for high school students)