Daniel A. Fletcher

Associate Professor, Bioengineering Faculty Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Deputy Division Director, Physical Biosciences Division, LBL Core Member, UCB/UCSF Graduate Group in Bioengineering 608B Stanley Hall mailcode: 1762 (510) 643-5624 fax: (510) 642-5835 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it http://fletchlab.berkeley.edu Membership effective July 2002

Research Interests

My laboratory studies the mechanics and dynamics of cell movements on the purified protein, single cell, and tissue levels.  For these studies, we are developing new instruments to quantify cell and molecular mechanics based on optical microscopy, force microscopy, and microfabrication.

Research Summary

The research in my laboratory combines physical and biological approaches to uncover how simple cells are engineered – and can be re-engineered in the future – to carry out complex tasks. My students and I are currently focused on understanding the physical basis of cell movements and their impact on health through the development of new instruments and techniques. Our work can be divided into three areas:

(1) Cell motility & the actin cytoskeleton: We are investigating actin filament network properties and their role in powering cell crawling through in vitro reconstitution.

(2) Cell mechanics & shape change in disease: We are characterizing mechanical properties of blood cells and movements of single-celled pathogens.

(3) Biophysical tools & medical devices: We are developing biophysical tools, including optical and force microscopy techniques, and biomedical devices, such as microfluidic injectors and assays.

Selected Publications

D.N. Breslauer, R.N. Maamari, N.A. Switz, W.A. Lam, D.A. Fletcher, "Mobile Phone Based Clinical Microscopy for Global Health Applications", PLoS ONE 4(7): e6320, 2009.

D.A. Fletcher and P.L. Geissler, "Active biological materials", Annual Review of Physical Chemistry, vol. 60, 469-486, 2009.

J.C. Stachowiak, T.H. Li, A. Arora, S. Mitragotri, D.A. Fletcher, "Dynamic control of needle-free jet injection", J. Control Release, vol. 135(2), 104-112, April 2009.

O. Chaudhuri, S.H. Parekh, W.A. Lam, D.A. Fletcher, "Combined atomic force microscopy and side-view optical imaging for mechanical studies of cells", Nature Methods, vol. 6(5), 383-387, May 2009.

M.J. Rosenbluth, A. Crow, J.W. Shaevitz, D.A. Fletcher, "Slow Stress Propagation in Adherent Cells" Biophysical J vol. 95, 6052-6059, December 2008.

S.C. Hsiao, A.K. Crow, W.A. Lam, C.R. Bertozzi, D.A. Fletcher, M.B. Francis, "DNA-coated AFM cantilevers for the investigation of cell adhesion and the patterning of live cells" Angew Chem Int Ed Engl vol. 47, 8473-8477, 2008.

A.P. Liu, D.L. Richmond, L. Maibaum, S. Pronk, P.L. Geissler, D.A. Fletcher, "Membrane-induced bundling of actin filaments", Nature Physics vol. 4, 789-793, October 2008.

S. Pronk, P.L. Geissler, D.A. Fletcher, "Limits of filipodium stability" Phys Rev Lett vol. 100, 258102, June 2008.

M.J. Rosenbluth, W.A. Lam, D.A. Fletcher, "Analyzing cell mechanics in hematologic diseases with microfluidic biophysical flow cytometry" Lab Chip vol. 8, 1062-1070, July 2008.

J.W. Shaevitz, D.A. Fletcher, "Curvature and torsion in growing actin networks" Phys Biol vol. 5, 26006, June 2008.

W.A. Lam, M.J. Rosenbluth, D.A. Fletcher, "Increased leukaemia cell stiffness is associated with symptoms of leucostasis in paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia" Br J Haematol vol. 142, 480-501, June 2008.

J.C. Stachowiak, D.L. Richmond, T.H. Li, A.P. Liu, S.H. Parekh, D.A. Fletcher, "Unilamellar vesicle formation and encapsulation by microfluidic jetting" PNAS, vol. 105, 4697-702, March 2008.

W.R. Hansen, D.A. Fletcher, "Tonic shock induces detachment of Giardia lamblia" PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2008 Feb;2(2):e169.