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Christina Kurzthaler: “Recent advances in microfluidics and microscopy allow building new platforms for studying biological systems across several scales. Bridging experimental observations with our theoretical predictions has proven vital for identifying physical laws governing their complex dynamics. Using statistical physics and fluid mechanics, we study how the environment, imposing geometric constraints, hydrodynamic and chemical fields, shapes transport processes and self-organization of microorganisms and subcellular constituents. Our research further aims at leveraging biophysical concepts for designing new inanimate materials.”
Biophysics
All biological systems are formed of matter obeying physical principles and laws. Concepts from physics are important to understand how biological processes occur at different levels in the organism, ranging from molecular and cellular scales to the level of entire tissues. For instance, how do molecular motors allow for cellular transport, contribute to cell division, or generate the beating of a flagellum? How do forces shape the organism during development when tissues grow and are remodeled? To answer such questions, we need to develop a new physics of active processes, for systems that are far from thermodynamic equilibrium due to a constant influx of energy provided by cell metabolism. As we work toward this goal, we strive to integrate both theory and experiments.
Using tools from statistical physics, dynamical systems theory, and continuum mechanics, theorists investigate the physical principles underlying biological processes. Biophysical research covers topics as
- Physics of the cytoskeleton, cells and tissues
- Collective dynamics of cells
- Self-organization of biological structures
- Biophotonics
Fluorescence spinning disk microscopy, light-sheet microscopy, single molecule experiments, micro-manipulation, or laser ablation are examples of technologies developed and used by experimental physicists in our inquiry.