Skip to main content

Understanding the Physics of Life

We are developing advanced tools and models to describe how biomolecules and organisms arrange and interact over multiple length and time-scales to facilitate biological function. Our research is applied to answer fundamental biological questions and to develop new approaches for medical diagnostics and therapy.

Example project areas include:

We have developed tools for studying the deformation of cells under high-shear conditions. This is used to characterise cell populations at the single cell level with high throughput, which can be applied for cancer diagnostics.

We are using 3D super-resolution fluorescence microscopy and high-speed atomic force microscopy to reveal the nanoscale organisation of cellular membrane proteins. This organisation can be leveraged for improved targeting in immunotherapy approaches.

We are integrating instruments at national facilities (including ISIS facility and Diamond Light Source) and computational modelling to understand the role of water and the aqueous environment in biology, and the hierarchical biomechanics of biomolecular assembly.

We are integrating experiments and theory to understand how cells use their complex sugar coats to sense and navigate their environment and communicate with each other. 

sing fluorescence spectroscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy to understand the molecular mechanisms underpinning the function of proteins involved in solar energy capture in plants and purple bacteria.

Academics working in this area: