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Research in the Physics of Life seeks to unravel the physical principles underlying organization and functions in living systems. At UCSD Biophysics, we are at the forefront of this rapidly advancing discipline. Consistent with broad yet fundamental training, we use experimental, theoretical, and computational techniques to solve problems at the interface of physics and biology.
Research Areas
Research Areas
Groisman, Alexander (Ex): Microfluidics, perfusion chamber, rigidity sensing
Kleinfeld, David (Ex): Neurophysics, Active sensing, Microcirculation
Oh, Seungeun (Ex): Live cell spectroscopy
Smith, Doug (Ex): Viral DNA packaging, Chromatin assembly, Physics of knot
Tan, Tzer Han (Ex): Active matter, Morphogenesis, Pattern formation
Hwa, Terence (Ex/Th): Quantitative and Systems Biology
Jun, Suckjoon (Ex/Th): Quantitative Cell Physiology
Rappel, Wouter-Jan (Ex/Th): Cell Migration, Chemotaxis, Cardiac arrhythmias
Dudko, Olga (Th): Synaptic transmission, Viruses, Chromatin
Goldenfeld, Nigel (Th): Turbulence, Condensed matter physics
Koslover, Elena (Th): Physics of Intracellular Active Transport
Serra, Mattia (Th): Nonlinear dynamics, Embryonic self-organization, Active matter, Fluid Dynamics
Zhao, Hongbo (Th): Biomolecular condensates, Active matter, Pattern formation
Affiliates
Hueschen, Christina (Ex, BioSci): Mechanobiology, Parasites, Active matter
Join us!
Join us!
Are you a prospective graduate student?
At the University of California, San Diego, we're not just participating in the field of biological physics — we're leading it. We are globally recognized for pushing the boundaries of interdisciplinary research. Our endeavors in uncharted territories of science, from quantitative cell physiology to neuroscience, reflect our pioneering ethos.
Why UCSD Biological Physics?
Prestigious Pedigree: Rooted in physics, our faculty members wield substantial influence on biological science, crafting a unique narrative of groundbreaking research and discovery.
Collaborative Spirit: Our work is characterized by a seamless integration of theoretical constructs with experimental innovation, facilitated by a highly cooperative environment that transcends traditional academic barriers. Collaborations include continual interactions with our neighbors: UCSD Biology, UCSD Mathematics, UCSD Computer Science and Engineering, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Scripps Research, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and others.
Expansive Growth: With a robust expansion plan, our faculty will include over 15 core faculty members by 2027, making our research breadth unparalleled and our academic ecosystem one of the most fertile for budding scientists.
Experience and Experimentation: A Dual Pathway
We champion a dynamic learning approach where new students—regardless of initial research interest—immerse themselves in a breadth of perspectives. Informal rotations through 2-4 research groups offer a dual pathway in theory and experiment, ensuring comprehensive exposure and a solid foundational understanding.
Financial Support and Academic Freedom
Guaranteed Funding: Graduate students will enjoy financial stability through research grants and teaching assignments, ensuring they can focus on first-class research.
Collaborative Mentorship: Thanks to the vast expertise of our faculty, students can benefit from joint thesis advisories with complementary and synergistic expertise (e.g., one theorist and one experimentalist).
Your Invitation to Innovate
We are always on the lookout for courageous minds ready to set the pace in new research domains. If you have the drive to break new ground and the resolve to make significant impacts, UCSD biological physics is your stage. Positions are open for stellar graduate students ready to join the ranks of change-makers.
For practical information about the application and selection process, please visit this page. Our new deadline is Dec 18, 2024.
Faculty Profiles
Faculty Profiles
Trained in theoretical physics, Terence entered biology initially to study genomics, biomolecular interactions and combinatorial gene regulation. He subsequently launched a microbiology wet-lab and developed a unique quantitative approach to study bacterial physiology. In the 2010s, the Hwa lab established a number of bacterial growth laws and formulated a principle of proteomic resource allocation. The Hwa lab aims to uncover underlying principles governing the spatiotemporal dynamics of microbial communities, and to apply these principles to synthetic biology applications.
Prof. Jun was trained as a theoretical physicist. He started his lab as a Bauer Fellow at Harvard University in 2007, and transitioned to experimental quantitative biology. In 2012, he moved his lab to UCSD, significantly contributing to the institution's reputation as a leading force in the field. He has been an Allen Distinguished Investigator (2013), a Pew Scholar (2013), and a Scialog Fellow (2015); and honored with the NSF CAREER award (2013), the Lattimer Award (2019), and the Michael and Kate Bárány Award from the Biophysical Society (2022). New students and postdocs in Jun lab choose their projects on fundamental problems in quantitative cell physiology after extensive exploratory periods within a protected environment. See, also, Prof. Jun’s short Living Histories talk.
We seek to discover principles that explain the design and function of brain-wide systems, guided by control theory and with a focus on rodent-based experiments.
Nigel holds the Chancellor's Distinguished Professorship in Physics and joined UCSD in Fall 2021 after being at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1985-2021. Nigel's research spans condensed matter theory, the theory of living systems, hydrodynamics and non-equilibrium statistical physics. In particular, Nigel is interested in how patterns evolve in time, focusing on emergent states of matter and work extensively to understand living systems.
Mattia earned his Ph.D. in Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos at ETH Zurich and was a Schmidt Science Fellow in Applied Mathematics at Harvard. We develop dynamical-systems methods and biophysical models to predict and control complex nonlinear systems. We are primarily interested in understanding i) how early embryos self-organize their form (morphogenesis) and function (differentiation) using tools from active matter, control theory and nonlinear dynamics; and ii) detect emergent dynamic patterns from dynamical systems defined by datasets or equations.
Tan lab's overarching vision is to understand how nonequilibrium forces lead to spatiotemporal organization in living matter, and in turn, how biological regulation harness this self-organizing capacity to make functional forms. By using a variety of model systems (including marine invertebrate embryos and mammalian organoids), the lab combines quantitative imaging, creative data analysis and collaboration with theorists to study the physical basis of biological organization.
Hongbo earned his PhD from MIT in 2021 and was a postdoc fellow at Princeton before joining UCSD in 2024. Lying at the intersection of biophysics, soft matter, active matter, physical chemistry, and applied mathematics, we aim to uncover new fundamental principles and methodologies of soft and living matter. We are particularly interested in how biomolecular condensates organize cellular components and interact with nonequilibrium activities in the cell. Leveraging statistical mechanics and data-driven approaches, we seek to discover and understand emergent phenomena in active matter.
We are interested in a variety of topics including viral DNA packaging in bacteriophages phi29, lambda, and T4, function of ATP-dependent molecular motors, single polymer dynamics (polymer physics, DNA properties, microrheology), chromatin assembly and structure, protein mediated DNA looping, DNA Unzipping and physics of knot formation. Our techniques include manipulation of single DNA molecules with Optical Tweezers, single DNA molecule imaging by fluorescence microscopy and molecular Biology and Biochemistry.
We are interested in how life controls its physical properties and how physical state impacts biological activity in sub-cellular and cellular level. Specifically, we are currently focusing on single-cell regulation of protein and lipid mass, volume, and density. We aim to understand the biological and biophysical nature of these controls at the single-cell level and utilize them to advance human health. For this aim, our lab utilize cutting-edge label-free optical microscopy tools including quantitative phase microscopy and nonlinear optical microscopy to explore these phenomenon in cells, small model organisms, and tissues.
We search for the physical principles that unify seemingly unrelated phenomena of the living world. We strive to capture these unifying principles in the form of analytically tractable (pen-and-paper) theories that are broadly applicable and that generate concrete, experimentally testable predictions. With this approach, we have recently explored the spatiotemporal organization of chromosomes in the nucleus of a mammalian cell, the infection strategies of enveloped viruses, and the physics of memory and learning. We welcome curious and motivated graduate students in theoretical physics who would like to discuss the possibility of joining us in these endeavors.
The Koslover group is focused on physical modeling of dynamics and structure within eukaryotic cells. Many of the questions we address center on how cells manipulate and establish the architecture and distribution of their organelles as well as how organelle morphology modulates the transport of material throughout the cell. In particular we explore the structure-function relationship of extensive organelle systems such as the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondrial networks. We use a combination of pencil-and-paper theoretical modeling, meso-scale computational simulations, and analysis of live-cell imaging data from collaborating groups to establish the key physical principles and parameters that govern intracellular processes.
Our lab uses computational, analytical, and experimental approaches to a variety of biological and biomedical problems. The goal of the research is to gain a better understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of the system. Areas of interest include eukaryotic cell migration, with a particular emphasis on chemotaxis, and cardiac arrhythmias.
The main area of research of our group is the development and application of new devices and techniques based on micro-flows and soft materials for cell biology and protein folding research. We collaborate with many bio-research laboratories in San Diego area and outside. Topics we are interested include chemotaxis and gradient response, microbial cultures in microchambers and perfusion chambers to study rolling, adhesion, migration of blood cells.
Division Life
Division Life
Coffee room seminar
Coffee room seminar
We are a group of students and postdocs interested in biological physics and quantitive biology. We get together once per month (last Friday of the month) in the "coffee room" on the 7th floor of Urey Hall. The meeting consists of an informal seminar (typically 15-30 minutes) followed by a discussion session with snacks and drinks. The official purpose is to foster cross-talks between research groups. The unofficial (real) purpose is enjoy a little break in good company, around a beer. If you are interested in giving a talk, please contact Aman Sharma or Sreejith Santhosh. Learn more here.
Odd dynamics of living chiral crystal (2022) Nature
Alumni of UCSD Biophysics
Alumni of UCSD Biophysics
Fangzhou Xiao, Postdoc 2023, Jun lab alumnus
Current Position: Assistant Professor, School of Engineering (from January 2024), Westlake University, China
Fangwei Si, Postdoc 2022, Jun lab alumnus
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
"About the UCSD years, I could not remember how many top-notch scientists I talked to, and how many inspiring seminars I attended. But I am sure those interactions helped me grow into an independent researcher."
Yuansheng Cao, Postdoc 2022, Rappel Group alumnus
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, Tsinghua University
Iftach Shaked, Postdoc 2022, Kleinfeld Lab alumnus
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Ariel U
Lauren McElvain, Postdoc 2022, Kleinfeld Lab alumnus
Current Position: Assistant Professor, USC
Thomas Broggini, Postdoc 2021, Kleinfeld Lab alumnus, Kleinfeld Lab alumnus
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Goethe U, Germany
Gautam Reddy, PhD 2020, Vergassola Group alumnus
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, Princeton University
Avaneesh Narla, Ph.D. student (2020 — 2023), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Stanford Science Fellow, Stanford University
Brian Taylor, Ph.D. student (2015 —2022), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Post-doc, Joint BioEnergy Institute
Tolga Caglar, Post-doc (2017 —2021), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Research Scientist, San Diego Supercomputer Center
Kapil Amarnath, post-doc (2017 — 2022), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Senior Engineer, Ginkgos BioWorks
Haicen Yue, PhD 2018, Rappel Group alumnus
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, University of Vermont
Brian Camley, Postdoc 2017, Rappel Group alumnus
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, Johns Hopkins University
Yaojun Zhang, PhD 2015, Dudko Group alumnus
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, Johns Hopkins University
UC San Diego Chancellor's Dissertation Medal recipient
Dongyang Li, PhD 2018, Jun lab alumnus
Current Position: Postdoc, Elowitz lab, California Institute of Technology, USA
“The biophysics program attracted people from diverse backgrounds with a wide span of research interests. One could learn how to overcome disciplinary barriers, communicate and collaborate with each other on shared scientific pursuits more effectively. This unique experience also made me feel at home with similar-minded people."
John T. Sauls, PhD 2019, Jun Lab alumnus
Current Position: Head Of Engineering, PhAST
“In my experience, the caliber of ideas coming from the researchers in the qBio/physics program was surpassed only by their willingness to share those ideas and help you develop your own.”
Jonas Cremer, post-doc (2012 — 2018), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position:Asst Professor, Stanford University
Markus Arnoldini, post-doc (2014 — 2016), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Junior group leader ETH, Switzerland
Yonitan Aljadeff, Postdoc 2015, Kleinfeld Lab alumnus
Current Position: Assistant Professor, UCSD
Mya Warren, post-doc (2010 — 2015), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Principal Data Scientist, Creyon Bio, Canada
Tomoya Honda, Ph.D. student (2012 — 2018), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Research Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley lab
Jeffrey D. Moore, PhD 2013, Kleinfeld Lab alumnus
Current Position: Assistant Professor, USC
Andy Y. Shih, Postdoc 2012, Kleinfeld Lab alumnus
Current Position: Associate Professor, U Washington
Barrett Deris, Ph.D. student (2007 — 2013), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Instructor, Layola University, New Orleans
Markus Basan, post-doc (2010 — 2013), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Assoc Professor, Harvard Medical School
Tony Hui, Ph.D. student (2007 — 2014), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Asst Professor, Harvard School of Public Health
Minsu Kim, post-doc (2008 — 2012), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Professor, Emory University
Pablo Blinder, Postdoc 2012, Kleinfeld Lab alumnus
Current Position: Associate Professor, Tel Aviv U
Conghui You, post-doc (2008 — 2013 ), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Professor, ShenZhen University, China
Rutger Hermsen, post-doc (2009 — 2012), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Professor, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
Faruck Morcos, post-doc (2010 — 2012), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Assoc Professor, Univ of Texas, Dallas
Patrick Drew, Postdoc 2010, Kleinfeld Lab alumnus
Current Position: Associate Professor, Penn State
Rae Robertson Anderson, PhD 2007, Smith Group alumnus
Current Position: Associate Provost, USD
Lee F. Schroeder, MD/PhD 2009, Kleinfeld Lab alumnus
Current Position: Associate Professor, U Michigan
Nozomi Nishimura, PhD 2006, Kleinfeld Lab alumnus
Current Position: Associate Professor, Cornell
Robert White, post-doc (2004 — 2006), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Dean of STEM, Butte College
Jian Liu, post-doc (2005 — 2007), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Professor, Johns Hopkins U
Erel Levine, post-doc (2005 — 2009), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Professor, Northeastern University
Matt Scott, post-doc (2006 — 2008), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Professor, Waterloo U, Canada
Stefan Klumpp, post-doc (2006 — 2009), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Professor, Goettingen University, Germany
Karunesh Ganguly, MD/PhD 2002, Kleinfeld Lab alumnus
Current Position: Professor, UCSF
Philbert S. Tsai, PhD 2004, Kleinfeld Lab alumnus
Current Position: Associate Teaching Professor, UCSD
Rune W. Berg, PhD 2003, Kleinfeld Lab alumnus
Current Position: Professor, U Copenhagen
Christopher Schaffer, Postdoc 2005, Kleinfeld Lab alumnus
Current Position: Professor, Cornell
Ralf Bundschuh, post-doc (1997 — 2001), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Professor, Ohio State U
Ulrich Gerland, post-doc (2000 — 2003), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Professor, Tech University Munich, Germany
Nicolas Buchler, post-doc (2001 — 2003), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Professor, North Carolina State U
Weiqun Peng, post-doc (2001 — 2004), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Professor, George Washington U
Tom Kuhlman, Ph.D. student (2003 — 2007), Hwa Lab alumnus
Current Position: Professor, UC Riverside
Michale Fee, Postdoc 1995, Kleinfeld Lab alumnus
Current Position: Chair/Professor, MIT
Thomas D. Parsons, DVM/PhD 1990, Kleinfeld Lab alumnus
Current Position: Professor, U Pennsylvania
David Golomb, Postdoc 1993, Kleinfeld Lab
Current Position: Professor, Ben Gurion U.
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