Alexandre Porcher Fernandes
PhD Student, Sainsbury Laboratory
I am a theoretical biologist interested in understanding how biological complexity evolves. Life exists in different levels of organisation, and my research aims to understand how transitions between these levels happen – i.e., how molecules organise to form cells, how cells organise to form organisms, how organisms organise to form populations, and so on. Currently, I am studying the evolution of multicellularity using a computational model under the supervision of Dr. Vroomans at the Sainsbury Laboratory.
Joel Hochstetter
PhD Student, Gurdon Insitute/ DAMTP
Hailing from Australia, with a background in Physics, Joel is undertaking a PhD with Prof. Ben Simons working on mathematical and computational models for the maintenance and repair of squamous epithelial tissues, using approaches inspired by non-equilibrium statistical physics and active matter. While focusing on theory and modelling, Joel enjoys close collaborations with experimentalists.
Lakshmi Balasubramaniam
Postdoctoral Fellow, Gurdon Institute
Lakshmi trained as an engineer and has a PhD in cellular biophysics from Institut Jacques Monod, Paris. As a postdoctoral fellow in the group of Dr. Fengzhu Xiong she is interested in understanding how tissue mechanics affect cell migration and morphogenesis using an interdisciplinary approach.
Paula Garcia Galindo
Postdoc, Department of Physics
Paula is Spanish, trained as a physicist from EPFL (Switzerland) and Imperial College London. She is interested in theoretical evolution and ecology. During her PhD in Dr. Sebastian Ahnert’s group she focused on genotype-phenotype (GP) maps to study the impact of variation on molecular evolution, working in particular with non-deterministic GP maps of RNA. Now in the Fusco Lab she is working on models of bacteria and phage coevolution.
Sung Soo Moon
Postdoc, Department of Zoology
After completing my MSci in physics at Imperial College London, I worked on developing methods for biological networks during my PhD with Dr. Sebastian Ahnert at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. I’m currently interested in the organisational principles of nervous systems as a member of the Drosophila Connectomics group led by Dr. Greg Jefferis.
Augusto Borges
Postdoc, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience
Augusto is a biological physicist with a keen interest in mechanobiology and soft matter physics. He studied Physics at the University of La Plata, Argentina, and holds a PhD from Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany. Currently, at the Paluch lab in the Physiology, Development and Neuroscience department, he aims to study how physical forces contribute to tissue dynamics, morphogenesis and regeneration.
Former Members
Adrien Hallou
Wolfram Pönisch
Ruby Peters
Alexander Nestor-Bergmann
Zoe Nahas
Nuno Miguel Oliveira
Daniel Kunz
Enrico Sandro Colizzi
Tasmin Sarkany
Dillan Saunders
Jose Ignacio Perez Lopez
PhD Student, Department of Chemistry
Jose Ignacio is a PhD student in the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry. He completed his Biochemistry degree at the University of Seville, Spain, and specialised in Molecular Genetics and Computational Biophysics during his MPhil. Currently, as a member of Professor Collepardo’s lab, he is investigating chromatin phase transitions using multiscale computational models.
Apolline Delahaye
PhD Student, Department of Genetics
Apolline studied agronomical engineering in Lyon, France. She is fascinated by stem cell models of embryonic development and is currently pursuing a PhD in the Steventon group at the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on how extrinsic factors, such as extracellular matrix composition, regulates cell migration and shape developmental processes, using gastruloids as a model system.
Fengtong Ji
Postdoctoral Fellow, Gurdon Institute
Fengtong studied nanorobotic engineering and active matter in his PhD at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Currently, as a Wellcome Trust Early Career Fellow at the Gurdon Institute, he integrates nanorobotics and biotechnology to investigate the physical and molecular mechanisms underlying cell dynamics and tissue formation during development.
Pinak Samal
Postdoc, Department of Genetics
Pinak obtained a PhD in bioengineering from Maastricht University, The Netherlands. He is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Genetics and Department of Engineering. His project involves exploring and manipulating the biomechanics controlling tissue morphogenesis in embryonic organoids using microengineered tools. His research interests include design and fabrication of microfluidic platforms for controlling stem cell differentiation and patterning.
Luca Cocconi
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Physics
I am an Oppenheimer Fellow based in the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. I am particularly interested in fundamental physical constraints underlying the functioning of micro-machines operating far from thermodynamic equilibrium. My current research focuses on developing minimal analytically tractable models of “smart” active agents and materials, defined as physical systems capable of integrating self-actuation with the recording, processing and/or relaying of information at the local level.
Theory of Living Matter Seminar Series 