Grants per year
Personal profile
Research Interests
This is an exciting time to be studying organismal development. In spite of the progress in molecular biology built up over the last 3 decades, we are still searching for the mechanisms that couple the chemical and physical forms of organism. A misshaped hand, even with the right proportions of different cell types, wouldn't be of much use in gripping a cup of coffee. What are the collective cellular and tissue level mechanisms that generate the complex multicellular patterns of cellular differentiation and morphology in organisms? Recent advance in live fluorescent imaging provide us with a dynamic and spatially resolved view of organismal development, and what is needed now is the development of mathematical tools and models that can help ushering in a new, and physical, understanding of organismal biology.
In close collaboration with experimental labs around the world, my group develops quantitative image-analysis tools and mathematical models that guide the construction of inverse modeling schemes to make new and better measurements of live imaging data. When required, forward mathematical models are constructed to make sense of emergent phenomena, and more importantly, to generate predictions and hypotheses that guide future experimentation.
Education/Academic qualification
Applied Mathematics, PhD, Harvard University
… → 2010
Engineering Sciences, SM, Harvard University
… → 2007
Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (Part 3), Masters of Advanced Studies, University of Cambridge
… → 2006
Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, MA, University of Cambridge
… → 2005
Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, BA, University of Cambridge
… → 2005
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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2024 CZI Theory Program (Mani)
Mani, M. (PD/PI)
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
9/1/24 → 10/31/25
Project: Research project
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Center for Cellular Adaptation: Connecting Physics to Physiology and Fitness
Mani, M. (PD/PI)
The University of Chicago, National Institute of General Medical Sciences
8/1/24 → 7/31/25
Project: Research project
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Collaborative Research: A Mechanical Atlas for Embryogenesis at Single-Cell Resolution
Mani, M. (PD/PI), Mani, M. (PD/PI) & Mani, M. (PD/PI)
5/1/22 → 4/30/26
Project: Research project
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REU Site: Quantitative Biology REU (QBREU) at Northwestern University
Braun, R. I. (PD/PI), Braun, R. I. (PD/PI), Braun, R. I. (PD/PI), Andersen, E. C. (Co-PD/PI), Andersen, E. C. (Co-PD/PI), Andersen, E. C. (Co-PD/PI), Beitel, G. J. (Co-PD/PI), Beitel, G. J. (Co-PD/PI), Allada, R. (Other), Allada, R. (Other), Allada, R. (Other), Auffinger, A. (Other), Auffinger, A. (Other), Auffinger, A. (Other), Carthew, R. W. (Other), Carthew, R. W. (Other), Carthew, R. W. (Other), Kath, W. L. (Other), Kath, W. L. (Other), Kath, W. L. (Other), Kovacs, I. (Other), Kovacs, I. (Other), Kovacs, I. (Other), LaBonne, C. (Other), LaBonne, C. (Other), LaBonne, C. (Other), Lane, K. M. (Other), Lane, K. M. (Other), Lane, K. M. (Other), Mangan, N. M. (Other), Mangan, N. M. (Other), Mangan, N. M. (Other), Mani, M. (Other), Mani, M. (Other), Mani, M. (Other), Wang, J. (Other), Wang, J. (Other) & Wang, J. (Other)
4/15/22 → 3/31/26
Project: Research project
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CZI Theory Program (Mani- Northwestern)
Mani, M. (PD/PI)
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
9/1/23 → 8/31/24
Project: Research project
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Author Correction: Environmentally dependent interactions shape patterns in gene content across natural microbiomes (Nature Microbiology, (2024), 9, 8, (2022-2037), 10.1038/s41564-024-01752-4)
Crocker, K., Lee, K. K., Chakraverti-Wuerthwein, M., Li, Z., Tikhonov, M., Mani, M., Gowda, K. & Kuehn, S., Feb 2025, In: Nature Microbiology. 10, 2, p. 599 1 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
Open Access -
A physically inspired approach to coarse-graining transcriptomes reveals the dynamics of aging
Li, T. & Mani, M., Oct 2024, In: PloS one. 19, 10 October, e0301159.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Bayesian inference of relative fitness on high-throughput pooled competition assays
Razo-Mejia, M., Mani, M. & Petrov, D., Mar 2024, In: PLoS computational biology. 20, 3, e1011937.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Environmentally dependent interactions shape patterns in gene content across natural microbiomes
Crocker, K., Lee, K. K., Chakraverti-Wuerthwein, M., Li, Z., Tikhonov, M., Mani, M., Gowda, K. & Kuehn, S., Aug 2024, In: Nature Microbiology. 9, 8, p. 2022-2037 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
8 Scopus citations -
Multiscale biophysical analysis of nucleolus disassembly during mitosis
Pham, A. T., Mani, M., Wang, X. & Vafabakhsh, R., 2024, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 121, 6Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access3 Scopus citations
Datasets
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Emergence of a geometric pattern of cell fates from tissue-scale mechanics in the Drosophila eye
Gallagher, K. (Contributor) & Mani, M. (Contributor), ZENODO, Mar 22 2022
DOI: 10.5061/dryad.f4qrfj6wp, https://zenodo.org/records/6378171
Dataset
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Emergence of a geometric pattern of cell fates from tissue-scale mechanics in the Drosophila eye
Gallagher, K. (Creator) & Mani, M. (Creator), Dryad, Mar 22 2022
DOI: 10.5061/dryad.f4qrfj6wp, https://datadryad.org/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.f4qrfj6wp
Dataset