MEMS Distinguished Seminar: M. Taher A. Saif, "Ultra-sensitive MEMS sensors reveal a biomechanic link between mind and body"

Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, Fall 2025 MEMS Distinguished Seminar Series welcomes Dr. M. Taher Abu Saif (UIUC), who will present the MEMS Distinguished Seminar entitled, "Ultra-Sensitive MEMS Sensors Reveal a Biomechanics Link between Mind and Body." ABSTRACT: For centuries, the relation between mind and body has intrigued philosophers and scientists. How body affects the mind, and mind affects the body? Since mid-19th century, scientists searched for the "mind" in the anatomy of brain, just as they explored the "body" with Da Vinci's artistic renditions of muscles. Muscles are considered as contractile force actuators, and neurons as information processors. Here, we will discuss our findings, revealed by a novel MEMS sensor, that neurons are also contractile, both in vivo and in vitro. This contractility leads to tension in axons, a long cable-like structure that connects neurons with each other. We measure the magnitude and time evolution of tension in axons using specially designed MEMS force sensors. We then correlate the tension with neuronal function (firing pattern). We find that without this tension neurons cannot function. Furthermore, we have preliminary evidence of increased neuronal contractility with physical exercise, revealing the first possible link between mind and body. Understanding the critical role of neuron mechanics on neuron function may lead to new therapies against mental diseases including anxiety, depression, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease. M. TAHER A. SAIF was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He earned BS and MS degrees in Civil Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and Washington State University, followed by a PhD in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics at Cornell University. He then conducted postdoctoral research on MEMS at Cornell before joining the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in 1997. His interdisciplinary work spans mechanics of neurons and cardiac cells, tumor microenvironments, biohybrid robotics, and nanomaterials. Professor Saif is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In 2024, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering of the USA. He was endowed with the Grainger Distinguished Chair in 2025 in the Grainger College of Engineering, UIUC.