Life is a fascinating, far-from-equilibrium state of matter. We seek to understand how living systems function, adapt and evolve. Our current research is focused on the motion and self-organization of microbial systems in space and time. The systems of choice range from single cells to microbial communities, such as bacterial swarms and biofilms.
(Y.L. Wu)
Our research revolves around the development of computational methods and their applications to the study of biological macromolecules, with a particular focus on lipid membranes. In close collaboration with experimentalists, we use a number of modeling techniques, such as molecular dynamics simulation, continuum modeling, and free energy calculation to understand, for instance, how structure and dynamics of a membrane are affected by its lipid components, how nanoparticles interact with a membrane, and how small molecules diffuse within or across a lipid bilayer. In addition, we are working on a number of collaborative projects on protein systems, where we simulate receptor-ligand binding to investigate, for instance, the selectivity and promiscuity of an enzyme.
(Y. Wang)
