Theoretical Biological Physics
Members in this group apply theoretical and computational tools of statistical and nonlinear physics to understand fundamental aspects of the behavior of living systems across molecular to organ scales in health and diseases.
Ongoing studies probe the energetics and dynamics of large-scale biological assemblies, physical genetics, mechanical properties of cellular assemblies and biomaterials, cancer metastasis and immune system dynamics, cardiac nonlinear dynamics, and synaptic connectivity and brain function.
Members
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Professor Bi’s expertise is in the mechanics of cellular assemblies and employs methods in theoretical and computation condensed matter physics and applies to a wide range of biological and non-biological systems.
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Professor Di Pierro’s group develops novel theoretical approaches to characterize the structure and function of the genome using the tools of statistical physics, information theory, and computational modeling.
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Professor Karma’s research interests are in theoretical understanding of the emergence of nonequilibrium patterns in nonlinear systems with applications to diverse problems in materials science and biology that are both of fundamental and practical relevance.
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Professor Levine expertise includes physical modeling of cancer progression, metastasis, and interaction with the immune system.
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Professor Stepanyants expertise is in neurogeometry and brain function. The research in his group is aimed at understanding the principles of synaptic connectivity in the cerebral cortex.
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Professor Whitford’s research probes the energetic properties of biomolecular dynamics through a combination of theoretical modeling and high-performance computing.
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In the news
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Research
Living tissues may form like avalanches, Northeastern researchers say — a discovery that could aid new treatments
Anh Nguyen, Ph. D student, and Max Bi, associate professor of physics, have observed that when subjected to sufficient stress, tissues can “suddenly and dramatically rearrange themselves,” similar to how avalanches are formed in the wild. -
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.” -
NSF’s Physics Frontier Center, The Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, expands to Northeastern
Northeastern will become the newest expansion for the Physics Frontiers Center program, under the direction of University Distinguished Professor of Physics and Bioengineering, Dr. Herbert Levine. -
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).