We are interested in developing mathematical and computational methods for answering biological problems. The development of models for continua and particle-based methods have allowed us understanding tissue and cell rheology, intercalation, remodelling, and oscillatory responses. Our research focuses on numerical solution of mechanical problems, with emphasis on inverse analysis, delay differential equations and material stability, in the context of finite element and vertex discretisations. See Publication List with links, or full list below.

Contact
-Associate Professor
-j.munoz at upc dot edu
-Tel: +34 93 413 72 53, +34 93 401 16 26
–ResearcherID/Publons: B-2475-2009
–Google Scholar
–ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0083-3673
–Scopus
–Futur (UPC database)
–Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Dept. Mathematics.
– School of Engineering Barcelona East (EEBE) Office A9.40 Barcelona, E-08019 Spain

PhD Students

Ahmad Kamal Khan (ahmad.kamal.khan @ upc.edu) PhD: Universitat Politècnica (Barcelona, Spain).

Ashutosh Bijalwan (abijalwan @ cimne.upc.edu) PhD: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain)

Cécilia Olivesi (cecilia.olivesi1 @ upc.edu)

Adrià Villacrosa (a.villacrosa.ribas @ tue.nl) PhD: Technische Universieit Einhoven (TU/e, Netherlands)) – Universitat Politècnica (Barcelona, Spain). Co-supervised with Vito Conte (IBEC, TU/e)

Shafaq Zahra (shafaq.zahra @ upc.edu) PhD: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain).

 

Main Research topics

Optimal locomotion of organisms – soft robotics:

3D vertex models for multicellular mechanics (see summary poster in EMBL Symposium: Organoids):

Stretching test (see movie)

Compression test (see movie)

Wound healing: hybrid algorithm for vertex and bulk rheology of monolayers (in collaboration with Yanlan Mao, University College London).

Inverse analysis. Force inference from measured displacement in embryogenesis: Drosophila fly invagination (in collaboration with Vito Conte at TU/e, The Netherlands).

Embryogenesis of Central Nervous System (CNS). Finite Element viscoelastic mechanical analysis of CNS during condensation in Drosophila fly embryo (in collaboration with Enrique Martin-Blanco, IBMB-CSIC, and Tim Saunders’ Lab, NUS).

Cell and tissue oscillations. Analysis of stability and oscillatory behaviour based on delayed rest-length changes.

Non-linear oscillations (see movie)

Research Program at LaCaN

Cell and tissue mechanics in embryogenesis

 

Collaborations

–Ester Comellas (UPC)
–Yanlan Mao (UCL, UK)
– Vito Conte (TU/e, The Netherlands)
–Guillaume Charras (UCL, UK)
–Enrique Martín-Blanco (IBMB-CSIC, Spain)
–Tim Saunders (Warwick, UK)
– Sandra Shefelbine (Northeastern University, USA)

Publications. Scientific Articles.

• [41] A. Bijalwan, J.J. Muñoz. A control Hamiltonian-preserving discretisation for optimal control. Multibody System Dynamics. Accepted. DOI: 10.1007/s11044-023-09902-y
• [40] E. Comellas, J.E. Farkas, G. Kleinberg, K. Lloyd, T. Mueller, T.J. Duerr, J.J. Muñoz, J.R. Monaghan, S.J. Shefelbine. Local mechanical stimuli shape tissue growth in vertebrate joint morphogenesis. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 289:20220621, 2022
• [39] K. Karkali, P. Tiwari, A. Singh, S. Tlili, I. Jorba,D. Navajas, J.J. Muñoz, T.E. Saunders, E. Martín-Blanco. Condensation of the Drosophila Nerve Cord is Oscillatory and depends on Coordinated Mechanical Interactions. Dev. Cell, 57(7): 867-882, 2022
• [38] J.J. Muñoz, L. Condamin, D. Doste. On the net displacement of contact surface centroid in contractile bodies. Mechanics Research Communications, 119:103809, 2022. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.mechrescom.2021.103809
• [37] M.A. Dawi, J.J. Muñoz. Stability bounds of a delay visco-elastic rheological model with substrate friction. Journal of Mathematical Biology, 83:71, 2021.DOI: 10.1007/s00285-021-01699-8
• [36] A Nyga, J.J. Muñoz, S Dercksen, G Fornabaio, M Uroz, X Trepat, B Baum, H Matthews, V Conte. Oncogenic RAS instructs morphological transformation of human epithelia via differential tissue mechanics. Science Advances, Vol 7, Issue 42, 2021.
• [35] P Mosaffa, RJ Tetley, A Rodríguez-Ferran, Y Mao, JJ Muñoz. Junctional and cytoplasmic contributions in wound healing. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 17:20200264, 2020.
• [34] F Ioannou, MA Dawi, RJ Tetley, Y Mao, JJ Muñoz. “Development of a new 3D hybrid model for epithelia morphogenesis”. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. 10: 1:11, 2020.
• [33] M Tozluoglu, M Duda, NJ Kirkland, R Barrientos, JJ Burden, JJ Muñoz, Y Mao. “Planar differential growth rates initiate precise fold positions in complex epithelia”. Dev. Cell. 51(3): 299-312, 2019.
• [32] N Khalilgharibi, J Fouchard, N Asadipour, R Barrientos, M Duda, A Bonfanti, A Yonis, A Harris, P Mosaffa, Y Fujita, A Kabla, Y Mao, B Baum, JJ Muñoz, M Miodownik, G Charras. “Stress relaxation in epithelial monolayers is controlled by the actomyosin cortex”. Nature Physics, 15: 839–847, 2019.
• [31] L Roldán, JJ Muñoz, P Sáez. “Computational modeling of epithelial wound healing: Short and long term chemo-mechanical mechanisms”. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering. 350:28-56, 2019.
• [30] JJ Muñoz, M. Dingle, M Wenzel. “Mechanical oscillations in biological tissues as a result of delayed rest-length changes”. Physical Review E, 98, 052409, 2018.
• [29] JJ Muñoz, D Amat, V Conte. “Computation of forces from deformed visco-elastic biological tissues”. Inverse Problems, 34(4), 044001, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6420/aaac5b
• [28] P Mosaffa, A Rodríguez-Ferran and JJ Muñoz. “Hybrid cell-centred/vertex model for multicellular systems with equilibrium-preserving remodelling”. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Biomedical Engineering . 34(3):1-24, e2928, 2018.
• [27] R Sunyer, V Conte, J Escribano, A Elosegui-Artola, A Labernadie, L Valon, D Navajas, JM García-Aznar, JJ Muñoz, P Roca-Cusachs and X Trepat. “Collective cell durotaxis emerges from long-range intercellular force transmission”. Science. 353(6304): 1157 – 1161, 2016.
• [26] N Asadipour, X Trepat and JJ Muñoz. “Porous-based rheological model for tissue fluidisation”. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 96:,535-549, 2016.
• [25] JJ Muñoz. “Non-regularised Inverse Finite Element Analysis for 3D Traction Force Microscopy”. Journal of Numerical Analysis and Modeling. 13 (5): 763-781, 2016. PDF
• [24] JJ Muñoz and N Rabiei. “AAR-based decomposition method for lower bound limit analysis”. ICE –
  Engineering and Computational Mechanics, 168(4): 169–177, 2015.
• [23] P Mosaffa, N Asadipour, D Millán, A Rodríguez-Ferran and JJ Muñoz. “Cell-centred model for the simulation of curved cellular monolayers”. Computational Particle Mechanics, 2(4): 359-370, 2015.
• [22] N Rabiei and JJ Muñoz. “AAR-based decomposition algorithm for non-linear convex optimisation”. Computational Optimization and Applications, 62(3): 761-786, 2015.
• [21] E Bazellières, V Conte, A Elosegui-Artola, X Serra-Picamal, M Bintanel-Morcillo, P Roca-Cusachs, JJ Muñoz, M Sales-Pardo, R Guimerà, and X Trepat. “Control of cell-cell forces and collective cell dynamics by the intercellular adhesome”, Nature Cell Biology, 17:409-420, 2015
• [20] X Serra-Picamal, V Conte, R Sunyer, JJ Muñoz and X Trepat. “Mapping forces and kinematics during collective cell migration”, Methods in Cell Biology, Vol 125: 309-330, 2015
• [19] A Brugués, E Anon, V Conte, JH Veldhuis, M Gupta, M, J Colombelli, JJ Muñoz, GW Brodland, B Ladoux and X Trepat. “Forces driving epithelial wound healing”, Nature Physics 10:683-690, 2014.
• [18] JJ Muñoz and S Albo. “Physiology-based model of cell viscoelasticity ”. Physical Review E , 88(1): 012708, 2013.
• [17] JJ Muñoz, A Lyamin and A Huerta. “Stability of anchored sheet wall in cohesive-frictional soils by FE limit analysis ”. International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics 37 (9): 1213-1230, 2013.
• [16] JJ Muñoz, V Conte, N Asadipour and M Miodownik. “A truss element for modelling reversible softening in living tissues ”. Mechanics Research Communications, 49: 44-49, 2013.
• [15] JL Curiel Sosa, S. Phaneendra and JJ Muñoz. “Modelling of mixed damage on fibre-reinforced composite laminates subjected to low velocity impact ”. International Journal of Damage Mechanics . 22 (3): 356-374, 2013.
• [14] R Allena, JJ Muñoz and D. Aubry. “Diffusion-reaction model for Drosophila embryo development ”. Comp. Meth. Biomech. Biomed. Engin., 16(3): 235-248, 2013. Preprint. 16 (3): 235-248, 2013.
• [13] V Conte, F Ulrich, B Baum, JJ Muñoz, J Veldhuis, W Brodland and M Miodownik. “A biomechanical analysis of ventral furrow formation in the Drosophila melanogaster embryo ”. PLOS One 7(4):1-17, 2012.
• [12] JJ Muñoz, A Huerta, J Bonet and J Peraire. “A note on upper bound formulations in limit analysis ”. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering , 91 (8): 896-908, 2012.
• [11] JJ Muñoz, V Conte, and M Miodownik “Stress dependent morphogenesis: continuum mechanics and truss systems ”. Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology, 1(2): 188 – 198, 2010.
• [10] V Conte, JJ Muñoz, B Baum and M Miodownik “Robust mechanisms of ventral furrow invagination require the combination of cellular shape changes ”. Physical Biology, 6: 1-12, 2009.
• [9] JJ Muñoz, J Bonet, A Huerta and J Peraire. “Upper and lower bounds in limit analysis: adaptive meshing strategies and discontinuous loading ”. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 77:471-501, 2009.
• [8] V Conte, JJ Muñoz, M Miodownik. “A 3D finite element model of ventral furrow invagination in the Drosophila melanogaster embryo ”. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials , 2:188-198, 2008.
• [7] JJ Muñoz. “Modelling unilateral frictionless contact using the null-space method and cubic B-Spline interpolation”. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering 197:979-993, 2008.
• [6] JJ Muñoz. “On the modelling of incompressibility in linear and non-linear elasticity with the master-slave approach”. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering , 74:269-293, 2008.
• [5] JJ Muñoz, K Barrett and M Miodownik. “ A deformation gradient decomposition method for the analysis of the mechanics of morphogenesis”. Journal of Biomechanics, 40:1372-1380, 2007.
• [4] JJ Muñoz and G Jelenic. “Sliding joints in 3D beams: Conserving algorithms using the master-slave approach”.Multibody System Dynamics,16: 237-261, 2006.
• [3] JJ Muñoz, U Galvanetto and P Robinson. “On the numerical simulation of fatigue driven delamination with interface elements”. International Journal of Fatigue, 28:1136-1146, 2006.
• [2] JJ Muñoz , G Jelenic. “Sliding contact conditions using the master-slave approach with application on geometrically non-linear beams”. Journal of Solids and Structures, 41:6963-6992, 2004.
• [1] JJ Muñoz , G Jelenic and M.A. Crisfield. “Master-slave approach for the modelling of joints with dependent degrees of freedom in flexible mechanisms”. Communications in Numerical Methods for Engineering. 19:689-702, 2003.

Publications. Book chapters.

• Borja, C., Moral, E., Muñoz, J.J.: Effects of time delays and viscoelastic parameters in oscillatory response cell monolayers. Book title: Viscoelasticity and Collective Cell Migration. I. Pajic-Lijakovic and E.H. Barriga (Eds). Elsevier , 2021.
• J. J. Muñoz, J. Hambleton and S. W. Sloan (2017). “R-adaptivity in limit analysis”. Book title: Advances in direct methods for materials and structures. Barrera et al. (Eds). Springer , 2017.
• J J Muñoz, N Rabiei, A Lyamin and A Huerta (2013). “Computation of bounds for anchor problems in limit analysis and decomposition techniques”. Book title: Direct Methods for Limit States in Structures and Materials. Spiliopoulos, Konstantinos; Weichert, Dieter (Eds). Springer , 2013.
• J J Muñoz, V Conte and M Miodownik (2010). “Stress Dependent Morphogenesis Continuum Mechanics and System of Trusses”. Book title: Continuum Mechanics. Andrus Koppel and Jaak Oja (Eds). Nova Publishers, 2010.
• G Jelenic, J J Muñoz. “Conserving time-integration schemes for flexible mechanisms with sliding joints”. Book title: Multibody Dynamics. Computational Methods and Applications. JC García Orden, JM Goicolea and J Cuadrado (Eds). Series: Comp. Meth. Appl. Sci. (Springer Verlag), 2007.

Publications. Outreach Articles.

• JJ Muñoz. A new 3D hybrid model for epithelial morphogenesis. Outreach Research , Issue 121, 2021. [ PDF ]

Recent Presentations.

• World Congress in Computational Mechanics (WCCM, 1/2021): 3D Vertex Models for Cellular Systems with Intercalation Events
• EMBL Symposium. Organoids: Modelling Organ Development and Disease in 3D Culture (10/2020): 3D vertex numerical simulation of intercalation and extrusion process.

Funding.