Baohua Ji
Zhejiang University

Editorial Board Member
Biophysical Journal

What are you currently working on that excites you?

I am currently exploring how groups of cells behave in the processes of wound healing, tissue morphogenesis, and cancer metastasis. What excites me is the possibility of influencing these processes via mechanical approaches because cell adhesion, cell polarization, and cell arrangement are sensitive to mechanical stimuli. If we can adjust the mechanical stress in living organisms, it opens a new avenue for treating diseases. This perspective lets us tackle diseases from a mechanical viewpoint, intervening in processes like optimizing wound healing and resisting tumor spread.

What has been your most exciting discovery as a biophysicist?

The most exciting discovery is that we found a strong connection between the way cells are organized and the stress field in cells and tissue. For instance, at the level of individual cells, the anisotropy of tensile stress in cells determines cell polarity, adding new aspects to what we understand as cell polarity. At the tissue level, the stress in the tissue shapes how cells are arranged. These findings show how the organization of cells in living tissue is linked to mechanical forces at multiple scales, uncovering the secret of how Mother Nature builds living tissue. We then built a quantitative relationship between the stress field and cell polarization and arrangement. This provides the basis for predicting how cells will behave in tissue at various physiological and pathological conditions.