Welcome to the Laboratory of Living Matter at Yale University!
We are interdisciplinary scientists using tools from soft matter physics and synthetic biology to investigate how the physical properties of cells influences fundamental life processes. We are particularly interested in how cells sense, produce, and transmit mechanical forces. In addition to using novel methods to measure the forces generated by living cells, we also design and engineer biomimetic models of cells and tissues from scratch. These models are built from purified cytoskeletal proteins and membrane components. Thus, we create 'bottom-up' non-living models which can reproduce mechanical force generation and perform some of the physical behaviors of the cell. Recently we have been interested in using molecular dynamic simulation to explore how cytoskeletal networks store and dissipate energy.
We are located at the Yale Systems Biology Institute. We are part of the Physics Department, Biomedical Engineering Department and the Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology (MDCB) Track. We are also part of the Physical Engineering and Biology (PEB) Program.
We are looking for motivated PhD students and Postdocs. Please contact us if you are interested!
