Department of Applied Physics

Description

Biophysics

How do cells determine their shape? How do molecules inside cells get to the right place at the right time? Our group uses a systems biology approach, in which we integrate interacting networks of protein and lipids with the physical forces determined by the spatial geometry of the cell. We use theoretical and computational techniques to make predictions that we can verify experimentally using synthetic, chemical, or genetic perturbations. We primarily focus on bacteria, in which the exquisite patterning of the interior in both space and time is critical for a wide variety of cellular functions. The wide variety of shapes and sizes that bacteria take on can be used as synthetic environment for studying the establishment of intracellular organization and the cellular response to perturbations in morphology. Ultimately, the manipulation of cell shape may provide a direct tool for engineering complex cellular behaviors.

Courses Taught

• Engineering Principles in Molecular Biology
• Physical Biology of Cells

Selected Publications

• Dynamic structures in Escherichia coli: Spontaneous formation of MinE rings and MinD polar zones
• Pattern Formation within Escherichia coli: Diffusion, Membrane Attachment, and Self-Interaction of MinD Molecules
• Min oscillations in round bacteria
• The Min system as a general cell-geometry detection mechanism: patterns of Min oscillations respond to changes in cell shape in aberrantly shaped Escherichia coli
• Dynamic SpoIIIE assembly mediates septal membrane fission during Bacillus subtilis sporulation
• A curvature-mediated mechanism for localization of lipids to bacterial poles
• Cooperative gating and spatial organization of membrane proteins through elastic interactions
• Lipid localization in bacterial cells through curvature-mediated microphase separation
• Macromolecules that prefer their membranes curvy
• Cell shape and cell-wall organization in Gram-negative bacteria