We develop numerical tools for inferring the forces that drive morphogenesis. By combining direct and inverse analysis we simulate embryo development of epithelia and tissues. We solve these problems resorting to in-house codes that are based on either continuum and hybrid vertex/cell-centred approaches. We are currently testing regulatory process of cell contractility, cell reorganisation and cytoskeletal remodelling, and enhancing inter- and intra-cellular rheology with specific laws of active matter that mimic measured viscoelastic response. We have applied the methods to Drosophila invagination, central neural system condensation, collective cell migration and wound healing process. On a lower scale we also simulate stress relaxation and fluidisation of monolayers.

Hybrid cell-centred/vertex model for multicellular systems with equilibrium-preserving remodelling
Mosaffa, P.; Rodríguez-Ferran, A.; Muñoz, J.J.
International Journal for Numerical Methods in Biomedical Engineering , Vol. 34, pp. 1-28, 2018

Computation of forces from deformed visco-elastic biological tissues
Munoz, J.J.; Amat, D.; Conte, V.
Inverse Problems , Vol. 34, Article number: 4, 2018

Collective cell durotaxis emerges from long-range intercellular force transmission
Sunyer, R.; Conte V.; Escribano, J.; Elosegui-Artola, A.; Labernadie A.; Valon L.; Navajas D.; García-Aznar J. M.; Muñoz, J.J.; Roca-Cusachs P; Trepat, X.
Science , Vol. 353, pp. 1157-1161, 2016

Non-regularised Inverse Finite Element Analysis for 3D Traction Force Microscopy
Muñoz, J.J.
International Journal of Numerical Analysis and Modeling , Vol. 13, Issue 5, pp. 763-781, 2016

Porous-based rheological model for tissue fluidisation
Asadipour, N.; Trepat, X.; Munoz, J.J
Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids , Vol. 96, pp. 535-549, 2016

Cell-centred model for the simulation of curved cellular monolayers
Mosaffa, P.; Asadipour, N.; Millán, D.; Rodríguez-Ferran, A.; Muñoz, J.J.
Computational Particle Mechanics , Vol. 2 (4), pp. 359-370, 2015

AAR-based decomposition method for lower bound limit analysis
Muñoz, J.J.; Rabiei, N.
Engineering and Computational Mechanics , Vol. 168 (4), pp. 169-177, 2015

Control of cell-cell forces and collective cell dynamics by the intercellular adhesome
Bazellières, E.; Conte, V.; Elosegui-Artola, A.; Serra-Picamal, X.; Bintanel-Morcillo, M.; Roca-Cusachs, P.; Muñoz, J. J.; Sales-Pardo, M.; Guimerà, R.; Trepat X.
Nature Cell Biology , Vol. 17, pp. 409-420, 2015

Mapping forces and kinematics during collective cell migration
Serra-Picamal, X.; Conte, V.; Sunyer, R.; Muñoz, J.J.; Trepat, X.
Methods in Cell Biology , Vol. 125, pp. 309-330, 2015

Forces driving epithelial wound healing
Brugués, A.; Anon, E.; Conte, V.; Veldhuis, J.H.; Gupta, M.; Colombelli, J.; Muñoz, J.J.; Brodland, G.W.; Ladoux, B.; and Trepat, X.
Nature Physics , Vol. 10, Issue 9, pp. 683-690, 2014

Physiology-based model of cell viscoelasticity
Muñoz, J.J. and Albo, S.
Mechanics Research Communications , Vol. 88, Issue 1, pp. 1-8, 2013

Diffusion-reaction model for Drosophila embryo development
Allena, R.; Muñoz, J. J. and Aubry, D.
Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering , Vol. 16, Number 3, pp. 356-374, 2013

A truss element for modelling reversible softening in living tissues
Muñoz, J.J.; Conte, V.; Asadipour, N.; and Miodownik, M.
Mechanics Research Communications , Vol. 49, pp. 44-49, 2013