Connected Science Community Biophysics PhD Program
A new kind of PhD Training
Conduct groundbreaking Biophysics research and develop skills that open a vast set of future careers with the support of a cross-College PhD Community!
The Connected Science Community Biophysics PhD Program bridges physics, biology, and chemistry to explore living systems, offering a flexible curriculum that prepares students for advanced research across biological scales.
It offers flexibility to customize coursework and research based on individual biophysics goals. You’ll have the opportunity to participate in lab rotations with faculty across different departments at Northeastern and attend seminars with leading biophysics researchers. Additionally, you will be trained in advanced computational tools, machine learning, and data science.
You will be joining a graduate program that is committed to cultivating a culture of respect and collaboration where the contribution of each person is valued.
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Maijia Liao
Dr. Maijia Liao is an experimental biophysicist researching the mysterious principles governing neuronal structures and functions. Originally from Jiangsu, China, she obtained her B.S. degree from Nanjing University, with undergraduate research experience in developing photoelectrode against photo-corrosion. In 2011, she switched to the field of soft matter physics and pursued Ph.D. degree in the Department […] -
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Jing-Ke Weng
Jing-Ke Weng is the inaugural Director of Institute for Plant-Human Interface (IPHI) and a professor of chemistry and chemical biology, and bioengineering at Northeastern University. He was a member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and an Assistant and Associate Professor of Biology at MIT between 2013 and 2023. He was a Pioneer Postdoctoral […] -
Srirupa Chakraborty
Srirupa Chakraborty obtained a PhD in Biophysics from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2016, prior to which she had earned a B.S. in Physics from Presidency College, University of Calcutta, followed by M.S. in Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology – Guwahati (India). After a brief stint as a visiting […] -
Calina Copos
Calina Copos is a mathematical biologist with applications to cell locomotion and cell cytoskeleton dynamics. She earned her PhD from University of California Davis with Bob Guy. She was a Courant Instructor at the Courant Institute at New York University with Alex Mogilner. Prior to Northeastern University, she was a tenure-track Assistant Professor at University […] -
Paul Stevenson
Research in the Stevenson group exploits the unique capabilities of isolated spins in solids to create ultrasensitive nanoscale sensors and new quantum communication technologies. By engineering systems where optical and spin degrees of freedom can communicate, we can perform magnetic resonance at the nanoscale with sensitivity comparable to traditional fluorescence imaging techniques. Our group is […] -
Sijia Dong
Prof. Dong is passionate about accelerating science using computation and automation. She received her PhD in Chemistry from California Institute of Technology in 2017, advised by Prof. William A. Goddard III, with whom and Dr. Ravinder Abrol she developed a first-principles-based and data-driven computational method to predict the structures of proteins that are crucial drug […]
Participate in groundbreaking biophysics research
- Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms in Aging and Disease
- Mathematical and Computational Modeling of Biological Systems
- Biomechanics and Mechanobiology
- Biochemistry, Structural Biology, and Drug Design
- Neuroscience and Sensory Systems
- Genomics, Bioinformatics, and Metabolic Engineering
- Nanoscale Biophysics and Single-Molecule Techniques
- Systems and Theoretical Biophysics
- Advanced Imaging and Structural Techniques
The Connected Science Community PhD
Upon joining the Biophysics PhD program, you will also join a Connected Science Community of PhD students across the College of Science. During the summer before your first year, you will have the option to participate in the Summer Skills Session to develop key skills, explore and utilize university resources, and learn about potential post-PhD careers.
During Fall semester of your first year, you will begin coursework and continue research in your department. Throughout your first year and beyond, you will continue your research while sustaining your Connected Science Community through seminars, workshops, and social activities.
In this unique PhD training program, you’ll:
- join a Community of PhD students across all College of Science departments, who learn from each other, collaborate, and draw on one other’s experience
- develop Career and Core Skills and inside knowledge of the outstanding career opportunities open to our PhD graduates
- explore Cross-Disciplinary Research to help you solve pressing research challenges
- gain external work experience – an integral part of your professional training, with many opportunities
Program Details
Program Requirements
31 total semester hours required
Minimum 3.000 GPA required
Milestones
- Two qualifying examinations
- Annual review
- Candidacy
- Preliminary research seminar proposal with proposed dissertation committee
- Preliminary research seminar talk
- Dissertation defense
Application Deadline
Priority deadline: December 1
Rolling deadline: March 15
For the duration of their program, students receive full tuition scholarship, a graduate assistant position with stipend, and health insurance.
Latest Biophysics News
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Northeastern researchers create plastic that dissolves in water that promises to combat global pollution crisis
“Right now we use a lot of conventional nonbiodegradable plastics for applications they don’t need to be used in at all,” Joshi says. “If we replace that with our plastic, you could just flush it down the toilet and it would biodegrade.” -
Computational chemistry promises to upset traditional methods of chemical synthesis
Sijia Dong, assistant professor in chemistry and chemical biology, has received an NIH MIRA grant, supporting revolutionary protein design strategies for drug synthesis. -
Scientists recreate genome of 52,000-year-old freeze-dried woolly mammoth
Frozen in Siberia, this mammoth was remarkably preserved at the microscopic level, Northeastern researchers discovered. Its DNA had remained the same for thousands of years, frozen as “chromoglass.” -
New Northeastern research could revolutionize treatment for children’s growth plate fractures using stem cells
Children break bones all the time — it is estimated that half will have at least one fracture by the time they turn 18 — but some injuries are easier to treat than others. -
New Northeastern lab plumbs the mysteries of the ticks and bacteria that cause Lyme
Constantin Takacs of Northeastern loves to study black-legged deer ticks and Borrelia burgdorferi, which is good news for everybody else -
How a Northeastern scientist is turning carbon dioxide into renewable ethanol
Assistant professor Magda Barecka is designing a chemical reactor that could produce renewable, carbon-neutral ethanol for use in fuels. Her research recently received support from the U.S. Department of Energy. -
New insight into antibody shows how it could offer sweeping protection against evolving SARS-CoV-2 virus
Researchers at Northeastern say they’ve discovered how an antibody could provide broad protection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). -
How Northeastern researchers are helping predict the outbreak of bird flu on US dairy farms
Bird flu has been detected in 169 livestock herds on dairy farms in 13 states. Northeastern researchers are creating a “risk map” of which farms might be next. -
Galaxy clusters could be used as natural dark matter colliders to understand nature of invisible particles
Observing groups of galaxies, where dark matter naturally collides, could help scientists pinpoint what kind of particle makes up dark matter, a Northeastern University paper finds.