161–172. Single-molecule adhesion nanomechanics Using single-molecule force spectroscopy, his lab showed how intracellular molecules such as a-catenin and b-catenin modulate cell-cell adhesion mediated by E-cadherin. Supporting Publications: 2008, S. Bajpai, J. Correia, Y. Feng, J. Figueiredo, S.X. Sun, G.D. Longmore, G. Suriano, and D. Wirtz, a-catenin mediates initial E-cadherin-dependent cell-cell recognition and subsequent bond strengthening, in: PNAS. Vol. 105; 18331–18336. 2009, S. Bajpai, Y. Feng, R. Krishnamurthy, G.D. Longmore, and D. Wirtz, Loss of a-catenin decreases the strength of single E-cadherin bonds between human cancer cells, in: Journal of Biological Chemistry. Vol. 284; 18252–18259. 2011, P.S. Raman, C.S. Alves, D. Wirtz, K. Konstantopoulos, Single molecule binding of CD44 to fibrin versus P-selectin predicts their distinct shear-dependent interactions in cancer, in: Journal of Cell Science. Vol. 124; 1904–1910. 2013, S. Bajpai, Y. Feng, D. Wirtz, and G.D. Longmore, a-catenin serves as a clutch between low and high intercellular E-cadherin bond strengths, in: Biophysical Journal. Vol. 105; 2289–2300. Publications Wirtz has published nearly 200 peer-reviewed articles published in Science, Nature, Nature Cell Biology, Nature Methods, Nature Reviews Cancer, Nature Materials, Nature Protocols, PNAS, Nature Communications, and Journal of Cell Biology. He has an h-index of 83. Highly cited articles 2011, The physics of cancer: the role of physical interactions and mechanical forces in metastasis, in: Nature Reviews Cancer. Vol. 11, nº 7; 512–522. 2010, A distinctive role for focal adhesion proteins in three-dimensional cell motility, in: Nature Cell Biology. Vol. 12, nº 6; 598–604. 2009, Particle-tracking microrheology of living cells: principles and applications, in: Annual Review of Biophysics. Vol 38; 301–326. 2003, Efficient active transport of gene nanocarriers to the cell nucleus, in: PNAS. Vol. 100, nº 7; 3878–3882. 2002, Micromechanical mapping of live cells by multiple-particle-tracking microrheology, in: Biophysical Journal. Vol. 83, nº 6; 3162–3176. 2000, Mechanics of living cells measured by laser tracking microrheology, in: Biophysical Journal. Vol. 78, nº 4; 1736–1747. 1998, Reversible hydrogels from self-assembling artificial proteins, in: Science. Vol. 281, nº 5375; 389–392. 1997, Particle tracking microrheology of complex fluids, in: Physical Review Letters. Vol. 79, nº 17; 3282. See also Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships Johns Hopkins University Ronald J. Daniels National Cancer Institute Physical Sciences-Oncology Centers Cell CANARY Belgian American Educational Foundation References External links Pathology and Oncology, External links Vice Provost for Research Webpage Faculty Webpage Wirtz Group Website Living people 1965 births Scientists from Brussels Johns Hopkins University faculty Stanford University alumni Fellows of the