About the Programme
The PhD candidate will join the Biophysics Group at the Department of Theoretical Physics (F-1), which focuses on understanding the physics of biological processes at both the tissue and molecular scales. The group also has an extensive network of international collaborations, primarily in the UK and USA. The central goal of the candidate’s research will be to gain a deeper understanding of the role of activity in the dynamics of 2D and 3D tissues.
Active matter & tissue physics
Active matter consists of components that locally consume stored or ambient energy to produce systemic motion. This results in a system that is intrinsically out of thermodynamic equilibrium. Active matter spans scales from schools of fish to microtubules. The physics of active matter has become a rapidly growing field over perhaps the last two decades. Moreover, as active matter is generally biological, understanding it is crucial for studying, e.g., organ shape formation and collective cell migration.
Tissues are an interesting example of active matter in which the role of activity is taken by, e.g., cell self-propulsion or cell divisions. In fact, we can often explain the behaviour of tissues as a consequence of activity through the lens of theoretical physics. For example, much attentions had recently been drawn by the similarity between certain tissues and active nematics. The latter are a type of active liquid crystal in which activity induces spontaneous chaotic flows and motile topological defects – similar to flows and defects we can find in tissues.
Despite the key role of activity in tissue mechanics, a clear unified picture of how different active processes affect tissues is still lacking. The central aim of the PhD project will be to develop a more systematic understanding of the role of activity in tissue mechanics. This work will rely in part on recent advances in modelling 3D tissues, in which the role of activity is just as important, but much less explored than in 2D.
What will the candidate do?
- Develop computational models of activity in tissue mechanics, employing both discreet and continuum approaches.
- Analyse how different active contributions (e.g., cell self-propulsion or cell division) contribute to tissue dynamics in 2D and 3D.
- Access high-performance computing infrastructure at Department F-1 for running complex simulations.
- Collaborate with experimental groups to relate their findings to real, living systems.
Who are we looking for?
- A candidate with a background in physics, computer science, biology, materials science, or a related field.
- Someone interested in theory and simulations (and maybe also collaboration with experimental groups).
- Prior experience in programming or computational simulations is welcome but not required.