Quantitative biology
Biological processes are complex and often out-of-equilibrium. Nevertheless, universal and quantitative laws often emerge at the cellular or populational level. One example is the constant protein and mRNA concentrations in a growing cell volume, generally valid for any proliferating cells. We are interested in finding these laws and understanding the underlying mechanisms using the language of physics. Our research interests are broad, including but not limited to gene expression, cell size regulation, and cell physiology. We seek to collaborate with experimentalists and test our ideas using actual data. Our ultimate goal is to find unifying mathematical frameworks to describe various biological processes.
Soft living matter
Soft matter refers to materials easily deformed by thermal fluctuation and external forces, including polymers, liquid crystals, colloids, and many others. Living matter such as cells shares many similarities with soft matter: they can be easily deformed and exhibit complex rheological behaviors. A key feature that makes living matter fascinating is that they constantly consume energy and are out-of-equilibrium. Living matter also actively responds and adapts to the environment. We are interested in extending our knowledge of soft matter physics to living matter to gain deeper insights into non-equilibrium statistical physics and biology.