Alexander Cartagena-Rivera, Ph.D.

Dr. Alexander X. Cartagena-Rivera received a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez in 2010. Then he was a graduate student and research assistant in the lab of Prof. Arvind Raman at Purdue University. He received a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University in 2014. He accepted a Post-Doctoral IRTA Fellowship position in the lab of Dr. Richard S. Chadwick in the Section on Auditory Mechanics with the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders at the National Institutes of Health in 2014. Dr. Cartagena-Rivera accepted a Tenure-Track Earl Stadtman Investigator position with the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) in 2019. He is now chief of NIBIB’s Section on Mechanobiology, where he and his lab staff continue work on understanding cellular and tissue molecular-mechanical regulation and development of advanced atomic force microscopy technologies for cancer biology and hearing research. In 2019 he received the prestigious NIH Distinguished Scholars Program award. His research interests lie in diverse and multidisciplinary fields including biomedical engineering, biophysics, fluid mechanics, soft matter, micro/nanomechanics, hearing mechanics, cellular biology, and living cells and viruses mechanics determined using the atomic force microscope in physiologically relevant conditions. Read more about Dr. Cartagena-Rivera's career in the NIH's Distinguished Scholars stories.

Research Interests

• Understanding the molecular-mechanical regulation of the actomyosin cortex of cancer cells and the solid tumor microenvironment (primary and metastatic) for deciphering self-organization in cancer biology.
• Understanding the anisotropic mechanical properties of developmental and mature inner ear sensory and non-sensory epithelial tissues using a novel noncontact AFM approach.
• Developing new AFM methodologies to study fast multiparametric and multidimensional cellular and tissue processes.
• Advancing the state-of-the-art AFM imaging methods for high spatio-temporal, multifrequency, and quantitative nanomechanical mapping.

Publications

Dynein-microtubule forces drive nucleokinesis and transmigration in T cells.
Tagay YZhovmer ASSarkar NStoop JSu LFleszar LPeterman ERasmussen JPCartagena-Rivera AXTsygankov DTabdanov ED
bioRxiv
2026 Jul 03

A FAIR road to a bioAFM databank.
Pellequer JLAguayo SAlessandrini AAlsteens DAndo TBeaussart ABetton MBetz TBlank KGBovio SCampillo CCanale CCartagena-Rivera AXCarvalho FACasuso ICharras GCheca MCollins LColom ACosta LDague EDahms TESde Pablo PJDelvallée ADinarelli SDougan LDufrêne YFDumitru ACEfremov YMEl-Kirat-Chatel SFacci PFantner GEPayam AFFeuillie CFlors CForde NFormosa-Dague CFrancius GFranz CMFranze KGarcia RGarcia-Manyes SGavara NGiannotti MIGirasole MGuthold MHeath GRHeu CHinterdorfer PHobbs JKHoogenboom BWJanel SKellermayer MKlapetek PKodera NKoehler MLafont FLamour GLandoulsi JLaurent VMLeclère PLekka MLi HLongo GMarchesi AMathelié-Guinlet MMeininger GAMela IMilhiet PEMillan-Solsona RMišić Radić TMolinari MMoreno-Herrero FNash MANoël OOh YJPasquina-Lemonche LPatil SPedraz PPêgo APPerkins TTPesl MPham TTPicas LPodestà APreiner JPřibyl JProksch RPuech PHPyne ALBRadmacher MRedondo-Morata LRico FRoos WHRos RSantos NCSarkans USchäffer TESchillers HShao ZSicard DSimonsen ACSokolov ISousa SRStokke BTStylianou ASzymonski MTama FThomson NHUchihashi TVassalli MVerdier CVial AVié VZambelli TZenobi RZheng PValotteau C
Nat Methods
2026 Aug 28

Author Correction: Mechanisms of active wetting and fluidification in epithelial cell collectives.
Marchesi SGuidolin CMassey AELemahieu GLavagnino ZBeznoussenko GVMironov AAGreen BJAllievi EMartini EMagni SGhisleni ALomazzi CBenvenuto AFSchertel Avan Faassen DAFreddi SBertalot GParazzoli DMaiuri PMapelli MPece SSigismund SGauthier NCCavalcanti-Adam EACartagena-Rivera AXGiavazzi FScita GDisanza A
Nat Mater
2026 Jul 08

Mechanisms of active wetting and fluidification in epithelial cell collectives.
Marchesi SGuidolin CMassey AELemahieu GLavagnino ZBeznoussenko GVMironov AAGreen BJAllievi EMartini EMagni SGhisleni ALomazzi CBenvenuto AFSchertel Avan Faassen DAFreddi SBertalot GParazzoli DMaiuri PMapelli MPece SSigismund SGauthier NCCavalcanti-Adam EACartagena-Rivera AXGiavazzi FScita GDisanza A
Nat Mater
2026 Jul

Lamin B receptor upregulation in metastatic melanoma causes nuclear envelope fragility in confined migration during cancer invasion.
Baird MAJewett CEMalide DAKratz LCartagena-Rivera AXFischer RSWaterman CM
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
2026 Feb 24

Stretching inhibits tumor growth in MMTV-PYMT via a direct mechanical effect.
Berrueta LBhan CHe YThompson RDSafairad ODoyle ADPérez PMartin DMezher MCartagena-Rivera ABadger GJLangevin HM
BMC Biol
2026 Feb 12

Immune Cell Migration Models Synergize Nuclear Piston, Uropod, and Microenvironment into Hydraulic Cell Engine.
Alawadhi SRutkowski DMTagay YCartagena-Rivera AXZhovmer ASTsygankov DVavylonis DTabdanov ED
bioRxiv
2025 Sep 06

Multiplexed Nanoscale Viscoelastic Mapping at Multiple Time Scales of Melanoma Cells as a Label-Free Cancer Biomarker.
Parvini CMassey AMezher MCartagena-Rivera AX
ACS Nano
2025 Aug 19

RAB5A Promotes Active Fluid Wetting by Reprogramming Breast Cancer Spheroid Mechanics.
Lemahieu GMoreno-Layseca PHub TBevilacqua CGómez-González MPennarola FColombo FMassey AEBarzaghi LPalamidessi AHomagk LLBarnett SFHCartagena-Rivera AXSelhuber-Unkel CPrevedel RTrepat XSpatz JPIvaska JScita GCavalcanti-Adam EA
Adv Sci (Weinh)
2025 Sep

Biophysical and Molecular mechanisms that control active wetting and tissue fluidification in epithelial tissues.
Marchesi SGuidolin CMassey AELemahieu GLavagnino ZBeznoussenko GVMironov AAGreen BAllievi EMartini EMagni SGhisleni ALomazzi CBenvenuto AFSchertel AParazzoli DMaiuri PSigismund SGauthier NCavalcanti-Adam AECartagena-Rivera AXGiavazzi FScita GDisanza A
Res Sq
2025 Mar 03

Myosin-independent stiffness sensing by fibroblasts is regulated by the viscoelasticity of flowing actin.
Mittal NMichels EBMassey AEQiu YRoyer-Weeden SPSmith BRCartagena-Rivera AXHan SJ
Commun Mater
2024

Mechanical properties of human tumour tissues and their implications for cancer development.
Massey AStewart JSmith CParvini CMcCormick MDo KCartagena-Rivera AX
Nat Rev Phys
2024 Apr

Septins provide microenvironment sensing and cortical actomyosin partitioning in motile amoeboid T lymphocytes.
Zhovmer ASManning ASmith CNguyen APrince OSáez PJMa XTsygankov DCartagena-Rivera AXSingh NASingh RKTabdanov ED
Sci Adv
2024 Jan 05

Atomic force microscopy-mediated mechanobiological profiling of complex human tissues.
Cho DHAguayo SCartagena-Rivera AX
Biomaterials
2023 Dec

Septins Enable T Cell Contact Guidance Amoeboid-Mesenchymal Switch.
Zhovmer ASManning ASmith CWang JMa XTsygankov DDokholyan NVCartagena-Rivera AXSingh RKTabdanov ED
bioRxiv
2023 Sep 27

Combined AAV-mediated gene replacement therapy improves auditory function in a mouse model of human DFNB42 deafness.Isgrig KCartagena-Rivera AXWang HJGrati MFernandez KAFriedman TBBelyantseva IAChien W
Mol Ther
2023 Sep 06

Frequency-dependent nanomechanical profiling for medical diagnosis.
Solares SDCartagena-Rivera AX
Beilstein J Nanotechnol
2022

Unbalanced bidirectional radial stiffness gradients within the organ of Corti promoted by TRIOBP.
Babahosseini HBelyantseva IAYousaf RTona RHadi SInagaki SWilson EKitajiri SIFrolenkov GIFriedman TBCartagena-Rivera AX
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
2022 Jun 28

Stiffening of Circumferential F-Actin Bands Correlates With Regenerative Failure and May Act as a Biomechanical Brake in the Mammalian Inner Ear.
Rudolf MAAndreeva AKim CEDeNovio ACKoshar ANBaker WCartagena-Rivera AXCorwin JT
Front Cell Neurosci
2022

A myosin chaperone, UNC-45A, is a novel regulator of intestinal epithelial barrier integrity and repair.
Lechuga SCartagena-Rivera AXKhan ACrawford BINarayanan VConway DELehtimäki JLappalainen PRieder FLongworth MSIvanov AI
FASEB J
2022 May

Viscoelastic parameterization of human skin cells characterize material behavior at multiple timescales.
Parvini CHCartagena-Rivera AXSolares SD
Commun Biol
2022 Jan 11

Mechanical Counterbalance of Kinesin and Dynein Motors in a Microtubular Network Regulates Cell Mechanics, 3D Architecture, and Mechanosensing.
Zhovmer ASManning ASmith CHayes JBBurnette DTWang JCartagena-Rivera AXDokholyan NVSingh RKTabdanov ED
ACS Nano
2021 Nov 23

Survey of cancer cell anatomy in nonadhesive confinement reveals a role for filamin-A and fascin-1 in leader bleb-based migration.
Adams GLópez MPCartagena-Rivera AXWaterman CM
Mol Biol Cell
2021 Aug 19

Budding epithelial morphogenesis driven by cell-matrix versus cell-cell adhesion.
Wang SMatsumoto KLish SRCartagena-Rivera AXYamada KM
Cell
2021 Jul 08

Engineering T cells to enhance 3D migration through structurally and mechanically complex tumor microenvironments.
Tabdanov EDRodríguez-Merced NJCartagena-Rivera AXPuram VVCallaway MKEnsminger EAPomeroy EJYamamoto KLahr WSWebber BRMoriarity BSZhovmer ASProvenzano PP
Nat Commun
2021 May 14

Myosin II isoforms promote internalization of spatially distinct clathrin-independent endocytosis cargoes through modulation of cortical tension downstream of ROCK2.
Wayt JCartagena-Rivera ADutta DDonaldson JGWaterman CM
Mol Biol Cell
2021 Feb 01

Coupling of β integrins to actin by a mechanosensitive molecular clutch drives complement receptor-mediated phagocytosis.
Jaumouillé VCartagena-Rivera AXWaterman CM
Nat Cell Biol
2019 Nov

TRIOBP-5 sculpts stereocilia rootlets and stiffens supporting cells enabling hearing.
Katsuno TBelyantseva IACartagena-Rivera AXOhta KCrump SMPetralia RSOno KTona RImtiaz ARehman AKiyonari HKaneko MWang YXAbe TIkeya MFenollar-Ferrer CRiordan GPWilson EAFitzgerald TSSegawa KOmori KIto JFrolenkov GIFriedman TBKitajiri SI
JCI Insight
2019 Jun 20

Cochlear outer hair cell horizontal top connectors mediate mature stereocilia bundle mechanics.
Cartagena-Rivera AXLe Gal SRichards KVerpy EChadwick RS
Sci Adv
2019 Feb

Evaluation of the elastic Young's modulus and cytotoxicity variations in fibroblasts exposed to carbon-based nanomaterials.
Pastrana HFCartagena-Rivera AXRaman AÁvila A
J Nanobiotechnology
2019 Feb 23

Mapping heterogeneity of cellular mechanics by multi-harmonic atomic force microscopy.
Efremov YMCartagena-Rivera AXAthamneh AIMSuter DMRaman A
Nat Protoc
2018 Oct

c-Src activity is differentially required by cancer cell motility modes.
Logue JSCartagena-Rivera AXChadwick RS
Oncogene
2018 Apr

MARCKS-related protein regulates cytoskeletal organization at cell-cell and cell-substrate contacts in epithelial cells.
Van Itallie CMTietgens AJAponte AGucek MCartagena-Rivera AXChadwick RSAnderson JM
J Cell Sci
2018 Feb 02

Apical surface supracellular mechanical properties in polarized epithelium using noninvasive acoustic force spectroscopy.
Cartagena-Rivera AXVan Itallie CMAnderson JMChadwick RS
Nat Commun
2017 Oct 18

Actomyosin Cortical Mechanical Properties in Nonadherent Cells Determined by Atomic Force Microscopy.
Cartagena-Rivera AXLogue JSWaterman CMChadwick RS
Biophys J
2016 Jun 07

Substrate Deformation Predicts Neuronal Growth Cone Advance.
Athamneh AICartagena-Rivera AXRaman ASuter DM
Biophys J
2015 Oct 06

Erk regulation of actin capping and bundling by Eps8 promotes cortex tension and leader bleb-based migration.
Logue JSCartagena-Rivera AXBaird MADavidson MWChadwick RSWaterman CM
Elife
2015 Jul 11

Fast, multi-frequency, and quantitative nanomechanical mapping of live cells using the atomic force microscope.
Cartagena-Rivera AXWang WHGeahlen RLRaman A
Sci Rep
2015 Jun 29

Nanomechanical property maps of breast cancer cells as determined by multiharmonic atomic force microscopy reveal Syk-dependent changes in microtubule stability mediated by MAP1B.
Krisenko MOCartagena ARaman AGeahlen RL
Biochemistry
2015 Jan 13

Local viscoelastic properties of live cells investigated using dynamic and quasi-static atomic force microscopy methods.
Cartagena ARaman A
Biophys J
2014 Mar 04

Mapping in vitro local material properties of intact and disrupted virions at high resolution using multi-harmonic atomic force microscopy.
Cartagena AHernando-Pérez MCarrascosa JLde Pablo PJRaman A
Nanoscale
2013 Jun 07

Mapping nanomechanical properties of live cells using multi-harmonic atomic force microscopy.
Raman ATrigueros SCartagena AStevenson APSusilo MNauman EContera SA
Nat Nanotechnol
2011 Nov 13