Marko Popović

I am currently a research group leader at Max Planck Institute for Physics of Complex Systems in Dresden and a senior research associate at the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb. My research focuses on the mechanics of biological tissues, with particular interest in tissue morphogenesis and the mechanical properties of soft amorphous materials. I study the physics of living tissues, asking how they fold, flow, and organize during development and regeneration through a combination of theoretical modeling, numerical simulations, and data analysis.

The asterisk * indicates co-first authorship. The hash # indicates co-corresponding authorship.

Peer-reviewed Journal Publications

  1. A. Tahaei, R. Piscitello-Gómez, S. Suganthan, G. Cwikla, J. F. Fuhrmann, N. A. Dye, and M. Popović. Cell Divisions Imprint Long Lasting Elastic Strain Fields in Epithelial Tissues, PRX Life, 3, 043008 (2025). Journal Preprint
  2. Y. Maroudas-Sacks, S. Suganthan, L. Garion, Y. Ascoli-Abbina, A. Westfried, N. Dori, I. Pasvinter, M. Popović#, K. Keren#. Mechanical strain focusing at topological defect sites in regenerating Hydra, Development, 152(4) (2025). Journal Preprint
  3. Y. Maroudas-Sacks, L. Garion, S. Suganthan, M. Popović, K. Keren. Confinement modulates axial patterning in regenerating Hydra, PRX Life, 2, 043007 (2024). Journal Preprint
  4. T. H. Tan*, A. Amiri*, I. Seijo-Barandiarán*, M. F. Staddon, A. Materne, S. Tomas, C. Duclut, M. Popović#, A. Grapin-Botton#, F. Jülicher#. Emergent chirality in active solid rotation of pancreas spheres, PRX Life, 2, 033006 (2024). Journal Preprint
  5. J. F. Fuhrmann, A. Krishna, J. Paijmans, C. Duclut, G. Cwikla, S. Eaton, M. Popović, F. Jülicher, C. D. Modes, and N. A. Dye. Active shape programming drives Drosophila wing disc eversion, Science Advances, 10(32) (2024). Journal Preprint
  6. T. Divoux et al. Ductile-to-brittle transition and yielding in soft amorphous materials: perspectives and open questions, Soft Matter, 20, 6868-6888 (2024). Journal Preprint
  7. A. Amiri, C. Duclut, F. Jülicher, M. Popović. Random traction yielding transition in epithelial tissues, Physical Review Letters, 131, 188401 (2023). Journal Preprint
  8. R. Takaki, L. Jawerth, M. Popović#, F. Jülicher#. Theory of rheology and aging of protein condensates, PRX Life, 1, 013006 (2023). Journal Preprint
  9. A. Tahaei, G. Biroli, M. Ozawa, M. Popović, M. Wyart. Scaling Description of Dynamical Heterogeneity and Avalanches of Relaxation in Glass-Forming Liquids, Physical Review X, 13, 031034 (2023). Journal Preprint
  10. R. Piscitello-Gómez, F. S. Gruber, A. Krishna, C. Duclut, C. D. Modes, M. Popović, F. Jülicher, N. A. Dye, S. Eaton. Core PCP mutations affect short-time mechanical properties but not tissue morphogenesis in the Drosophila pupal wing, eLife, 12, e85581 (2023). Journal
  11. M. Popović, T. W. J. de Geus, W. Ji, A. Rosso, M. Wyart. Scaling description of creep flow in amorphous solids, Physical Review Letters, 129(20), 208001 (2022). Journal Preprint
  12. S. R. Naganathan#, M. Popović#, A. C. Oates#. Left-right symmetry of zebrafish embryos requires somite surface tension, Nature, 605(7910), 516-521 (2022). Journal
  13. M. Popović, T. W. J. de Geus, W. Ji, M. Wyart. Thermally activated flow in models of amorphous solids, Physical Review E, 104(2), 025010 (2021). Journal Preprint
  14. N. A. Dye*, M. Popović*, K. V. Iyer, J. F. Fuhrmann, R. Piscitello-Gómez, S. Eaton, F. Jülicher. Self-organized patterning of cell morphology via mechanosensitive feedback, eLife, 10, e57964 (2021). Journal Preprint
  15. M. Popović*, V. Druelle*, N. A. Dye, F. Jülicher, M. Wyart. Inferring the flow properties of epithelial tissues from their geometry, New Journal of Physics, 23, 033004 (2021). Journal Preprint
  16. W. Ji, T. W. J. de Geus, M. Popović, E. Agoritsas, M. Wyart. Thermal origin of quasilocalized excitations in glasses, Physical Review E, 102, 062110 (2020). Journal
  17. T. W. J. de Geus, M. Popović, W. Ji, A. Rosso, and M. Wyart. How collective asperity detachments nucleate slip at frictional interfaces, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(48), 23977-23983 (2019). Journal Preprint
  18. W. Ji, M. Popović, T. W. J. de Geus, E. Lerner, and M. Wyart. Theory for the density of interacting quasi-localised modes in amorphous solids, Physical Review E, 99, 023003 (2019). Journal Preprint
  19. M. Popović, T. W. J. de Geus, and M. Wyart. Elastoplastic description of sudden failure in athermal amorphous materials during quasistatic loading, Physical Review E (Rapid Communication), 98, 040901(R) (2018). Journal
  20. N. A. Dye, M. Popović, S. Spannl, R. Etournay, D. Kainmüller, S. Ghosh, E. W. Myers, F. Jülicher, and S. Eaton. Cell dynamics underlying oriented growth of the Drosophila wing imaginal disc, Development (2017). Journal
  21. M. Merkel, R. Etournay, M. Popović, G. Salbreux, S. Eaton, and F. Jülicher. Triangles bridge the scales: Quantifying cellular contributions to tissue deformation, Physical Review E, 95, 032401 (2017). Journal Preprint
  22. M. Popović, A. Nandi, M. Merkel, R. Etournay, S. Eaton, F. Jülicher, and G. Salbreux. Active dynamics of tissue shear flow, New Journal of Physics, 19(3), 033006 (2017). Journal Preprint
  23. R. Etournay*, M. Merkel*, M. Popović*, H. Brandl*, N. A. Dye, B. Aigouy, G. Salbreux, S. Eaton, and F. Jülicher. TissueMiner: a multiscale analysis toolkit to quantify how cellular processes create tissue dynamics, eLife, 5, e14334 (2016). Journal
  24. R. Etournay*, M. Popović*, M. Merkel*, A. Nandi*, C. Blasse, B. Aigouy, H. Brandl, G. Myers, G. Salbreux, F. Jülicher, et al. Interplay of cell dynamics and epithelial tension during morphogenesis of the Drosophila pupal wing, eLife, 4, e07090 (2015). Journal
  25. M. Popović, H. Štefančić, B. Sluban, P. K. Novak, M. Grčar, I. Možetič, M. Puliga, and V. Zlatić. Extraction of temporal networks from term co-occurrences in online textual sources, PLOS ONE, 9(12), e99515 (2014). Journal
  26. M. Popović and A. Šiber. Lattice-gas Poisson-Boltzmann approach for sterically asymmetric electrolytes, Physical Review E, 88, 022302 (2013). Journal
  27. M. Popović, H. Štefančić, and V. Zlatić. Geometric origin of scaling in large traffic networks, Physical Review Letters, 109, 208701 (2012). Journal

Preprints

  1. A. Westfried, L. Garion, M. Popović, K. Keren. Body-Axis Reorientation in Regenerating Hydra under Geometric Confinement, bioRxiv. 10.64898/2026.06.25.734673 (2026). Preprint
  2. M. F. Staddon, N. A. Dye, M. Popović#, F. Jülicher#. Cell proliferation maintains cell area polydispersity in the growing fruit fly wing epithelium, arXiv:2601.14509 (2026). Preprint
  3. J. Fuhrmann*, V. M. Schimmenti*, G. Cwikla, S. Lee, M. Yuan, M. Wilsch-Bräuninger, F. Jülicher, M. Popović#, N. A. Dye#. Apical extracellular matrix regulates fold morphogenesis in the Drosophila wing disc, bioRxiv 2025.09.06.674631 (2025). Preprint
  4. K. Chhajed, F. S. Gruber, R. Etournay, N. A. Dye, F. Jülicher, M. Popović. Cell size heterogeneity controls crystallization of the developing fruit fly wing, arXiv:2505.05437 (2025). Preprint
  5. M. Popović, J. Prost, F. Jülicher. Electrohydraulic activity of biological cells, arXiv:2211.06909 (2022). Preprint