Biophysics

The research project Prof. Robijn Bruinsma, Professor of Physics at the University of California (UCLA), was carrying out as a TUM-IAS Hans Fischer Senior Fellow is a study of the phase behavior and statistical mechanics of solutions of Actin Filaments with Linker Proteins. Solutions of this type encountered inside cells and are associated with the continuous assembly and disassembly of the cytoskeleton of a cell. By varying the concentration and nature of the linker molecules, spontaneous self-assembly produces bundles, three-dimensional and two-dimensional networks. We are studying the thermodynamic stability and mechanical properties of these structures, which resemble similar structures encountered inside cells. The project is a collaboration with the groups of TUM-IAS host Prof. Andreas Bausch (Molecular and Cellular Biophysics, TUM) and Prof. Wolfgang Wall (Computational Mechanics, TUM) who, respectively, carry out in-vitro experiments and numerical simulations of these systems.

As a TUM-IAS Hans Fischer Senior Fellow Prof. David A. Weitz worked with the group of his host Prof. Andreas Bausch (Molecular and Cellular Biophysics, TUM) to develop new methods to study the elastic properties of cells, through a combination of using reconstituted biomolecular networks of purified proteins and in situ measurements on cells. The goal was to develop improved understanding of the origin of the elastic properties of cells and the design principles used by Nature to control this.

TUM-IAS funded doctoral candidates:
Thomas Gerling (PhD in 2015), Biomolecular Nanotechnology
Heinrich Grabmayr (PhD in 2013), Molecular & Cellular Biophysic