Conway, Daniel

Biography

Daniel Conway is a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Ohio State University and a member of the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.  His research is focused on developing innovative fluorescent-based imaging approaches to study cell mechanics, with a particular focus on resolving mechanical forces at cell-cell adhesions and the nucleus.  Dr. Conway received his BS in Bioengineering at Rice University and his PhD in the joint Biomedical Engineering program between Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University.  During his postdoctoral training at the University of Virginia he developed FRET-force biosensors to directly measure how shear stress affects the mechanical forces across endothelial cell-cell junctions.  Prior to coming to OSU, Dr. Conway was a faculty member of the Biomedical Engineering Department at Virginia Commonwealth University.  His current research is focused on how mechanical forces at cell-cell adhesions and the nuclear LINC complex regulate epithelial homeostasis.  This work is currently funded by NIH NIGMS R35, NSF CAREER, and NSF BRITE awards.  

Expertise

The Conway research group is focused on mechanobiological studies of cell and tissue physiology in a wide variety of cell types, including epithelial and endothelial cells.  

Biosensors:  We develop and use fluorescent-based biosensors to study biological phenomena, including directly measuring the mechanical tension across structural proteins.  We have used these biosensors in single cells, 2D monolayers, and 3D acinar structures.  

Cell-cell adhesions:  We have a strong interest in the role of cell-cell adhesions, including tight junctions, adherens junctions, and desmosomes, in regulating multicellular homeostasis, both in 2D and 3D epithelial structures.  

Nuclear mechanics:  We were the first to directly measure protein-level forces within the nuclear LINC complex.  More recently we have developed new biosensors for other nuclear proteins, including the nuclear lamina.  We are currently focused on how cellular forces are propagated onto the nucleus, the role of chromatin condensation on nuclear forces, and lastly how nuclear forces regulate nuclear-cytosolic transport.