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Welcome to the Biological Physics Group at CMU! |
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Biological Physics at CMU is expanding ...
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3 new faculty members (Deserno, Evilevitch, Woods) arrived since 2007
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theory and simulation (Deserno, Nagle, Swendsen, Widom) complement experimental approaches (Evilevitch, Garoff, Heinrich, Lösche, Mandal, Nagle, Tristram-Nagle, Woods)
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Research focus areas include:
- Biomembrane structure, dynamics and reorganization
- Physical virology: Viral assembly and genome packaging
- Peptide or protein interaction with membranes in biomedical research
- Folding and unfolding of single protein and RNA molecules
- Collective vibrational modes in biomacromolecules
- Transport and rheology in biopolymer gels
- Interactions and structure of supramolecular assemblies
Research opportunities at Large Scale Facilities:
- TeraGrid computing
- Synchrotron x-ray scattering
- Neutron diffraction and reflectometry
Our funding sources include:
Interdisciplinary collaborations with:
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Lab briefs (click investigator name)
Markus Deserno
412-268-4401
deserno@andrew.cmu.edu
lab website
Research topics
- Biophysical properties of proteins using computational models
- Coarse-grained lipid membranes
- Membrane-mediated forces between proteins
Lab members
- Karpur Shukla (undergrad)
- Senthilkumar Muthiah (undergrad)
- Kunting (Eddie) Chua (undergrad)
- Tristan Bereau (grad student)
- Cem Yolcu (grad student)
- Mingyang Hu (grad student)
- Zunjing Wang (post-doc)
- Xiaofei Li (post-doc)
Representative publications
- M Deserno, Macromol. Rapid. Comm. 30 752 (2009).
- BJ Reynwar, G Illya, et al., Nature 447 461 (2007).
Key project collaborators
- C. Peters (MPI-P, Mainz, Germany)
- R. Faller (UC Davis, CA)
- M. Karttunen (U Western Ontario, Canada)
Alex Evilevitch
412-268-2748
alexe@andrew.cmu.edu
lab website
Research topics
- Viral genome packaging and ejection
- Self-assembly and mechanical properties of viral capsids and packaging motors
- Nanocontainers and molecular devices modeled after viral capsids
Lab members
- Muwen Kong (grad student)
- Meerim Jeembaeva (grad student)
- Loubna Bendrioua (grad student)
- Elmar Nurmemmedov (post-doc)
Representative publications
- M Jeembaeva, M Castelnovo, F Larsson, A Evilevitch, J. Mol. Biol. 381 310 (2008).
- I Ivanovska, G. Wuite, B Jönsson, A Evilevitch, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104 9603 (2007).
Key project collaborators
- J. Conway (U Pittsburgh Med School)
- J.E. Johnson (Scripps Res. Inst., San Diego, CA)
- G.J.L. Wuite (Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Stephen Garoff
412-268-6877
sg2e@andrew.cmu.edu
lab website
Prof. Garoff is also a faculty member in the CMU Dept. of Chemical Engineering and a member of the Complex Fluids Engineering Group
Research topics
- Surfactant formulations for self-dispersing aerosol drug carriers
Lab members
- Alex Marakov (undergrad)
- Austin Good (ChemE undergrad)
- Kevin Koch (grad student)
- Amsul Khanal (BME grad student)
Representative publications
- AL Marcinkowski, S Garoff, et al., Aerosol Med. Pulm. Drug Deliv. 21, 361 (2008).
Key project collaborators
- T.E. Corcoran, J.E. Pilewski (U Pittsburgh Med School)
- T.M. Przybycien, R.D. Tilton (CMU BME)
Frank Heinrich
301-975-4507
fheinrich@cmu.edu
lab website
Dr. Heinrich is a permanent staff member at the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR).
Research topics
- Surface-supported bilayer membranes
- Peptide-membrane interactions in Alzheimer's disease
- Neutron scattering
Lab members
- Prabhanshu Shekhar (grad student)
Representative publications
- F Heinrich, T Ng, et al., Langmuir 25 4219 (2009).
- SA Holt, AP Le Brun, et al., Soft Matter 5 2576 (2009).
Key project collaborators
- J.E. Hall (UC Irvine, CA)
- G. Valincius (Inst Biochemistry, Vilnius, LT)
C.F. Majkrzak (NIST Center f Neutron Research, MD)
Mathias Lösche
412-268-2735
lab website
Prof. Lösche is also a faculty member in the CMU Dept. of Biomed. Engineering and a NIST Associate at the NCNR.
Research topics
- Bilayer membrane models near solid surfaces
- Amyloid-β impact on membranes in Alzheimer's disease
- Biophysical and structural studies of protein-membrane interaction in viral assembly, aging and cell signalling
Lab members
- Siddharth Shenoy (grad student)
- Prabhanshu Shekhar (grad student)
- Agnieszka Kalinowski (MD/PhD student)
- Haw Zan Goh (grad student)
- Sam Rauhala (grad student)
- Radu Moldovan (post-doc)
- Matteo Broccio (post-doc)
Representative publications
- DJ McGillivray, G Valincius, et al., Biophys. J. 96 1547 (2009).
- G Valincius, F Heinrich, et al., Biophys. J. 95 4845 (2008).
Key project collaborators
- J.E. Hall (UC Irvine)
- G. Valincius (Inst Biochemistry, Vilnius, LT)
- K.N. Dahl (CMU BME)
Maumita Mandal
412-268-4213
mandal@cmu.edu
lab website
Prof. Mandal is a faculty member of the CMU Dept. of Chemistry and an associated faculty member of the Depts. of Physics and Biomed. Engineering.
Research topics
- Single molecule manipulations of RNA folding with optical tweezers
- Self-assembly and structural studies of RNA–ligand and RNA–protein interactions
- Riboswitches and transcriptional regulation
- Nucleic acid-based molecular motors
Lab members
- Ha Pham (grad student)
- Muwen Kong (grad student)
- Jonathan Wert (grad student)
- Sang Kwon Seo (undergrad student)
Representative publications
- DJ Mandal, B Boese, et al., Cell 113 577 (2003).
- M Mandal, M Lee, et al., Science 306 275 (2004).
Key project collaborators
- Steven Smith (UC Berkeley)
John F. Nagle
412-268-2764
nagle@andrew.cmu.edu
lab website
Prof. Nagle is also a faculty member in the CMU Dept. of Biological Sciences.
Research topics
- Lipid bilayer structure
- Interaction between model membranes
- X-ray and neutron scattering
Lab members
- Pradeep Uppamoochikkal (post-doc)
Representative publications
- J Pan, S Tristram-Nagle, JF Nagle, Phys. Rev. E 80 021931 (2009).
- TT Mills, J Huang, GW Feigenson, JF Nagle, Gen. Physiol. Biophys. 28 126 (2009).
Key project collaborators
- N. Kucerka (NRC Canada, Chalk River)
- J. Sachs (U Minnessota)
Robert H. Swendsen
412-268-5211
swendsen+@andrew.cmu.edu
Research topics
- Algorithms for exploration of computer-generated data
Representative publications
- T Bereau, RH Swendsen, J. Comput. Phys. 228, 6119 (2009).
- RH Swendsen, Am. J. Phys. 76 643 (2008).
Monographs
- DC Mattis, RH Swendsen, Statistical Mechanics made Simple, World Scientific, NJ 2008
Stephanie Tristram-Nagle
412-268-3174
stn@cmu.edu
lab website
Research topics
- Lipid membrane structure
- Cholesterol/lipid interactions in raft domains
- HIV peptide/membrane interactions
Lab members
- Yuriy Zubovsky (undergrad)
- Danny Kim (undergrad)
- Rob Chan (undergrad)
- Pradeep Uppamoochikkal (post-doc)
Representative publications
- J Pan, DP Tieleman, et al., Biochim. Biophs. Acta 1788 1387 (2009).
- SD Guler, DD Ghosh, et al., Chem. Phys. Lipids 160 33 (2009).
Key project collaborators
- D.P. Tieleman (U Calgary, CA)
- J. Mathai, M. Zeidel (Harvard U Med School)
Michael Widom
412-268-7645
widom@andrew.cmu.edu
Research topics
- Elasticity and mechanical response of viral capsids
- Secondary structure and function of noncoding RNA
Lab members
- Ben Sauerwine (grad student)
Representative publications
- Z Yang, I Bahar and M Widom, Biophys. J. 96 4438 (2009).
- M Widom, J Lidmar, DR Nelson, Phys. Rev. E 76 031911 (2007).
Key project collaborators
- I. Bahar (U Pitt Med School)
- M. Mandal (CMU Chemistry)
Kristina N. Woods
412-268-9918
knwoods@andrew.cmu.edu
Research topics
- THz fluctuations in biomolecules
- Submicron IR imaging
Representative publications
- KN Woods, SA Lee, et al., J. Chem. Phys. 124 224706 (2006).
- KN Woods, H Wiedemann, J. Chem. Phys. 123 134506/07 (2005).
Key project collaborators
- J. Klein-Seetharaman (U Pitt Med School)
- B. Gold (U Pitt)
- S.A. Lee (U Toledo, OH)
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