What is biophysics research?
Faculty in Drexel’s Department of Physics are conducting biophysics research in a number of exciting areas. Learn more about current biophysics research areas below.
Let's build a new introduction.
- Begin with a brief, inspiring definition of the research area. For example: What is biophysics research?
- Consider that our reader may be 16 years old.
- Broadly, what does this research group explore?
- Why? What is the group motivated by?
- What are the goals of the group?
- What do you hope to advance, promote, understand?
- How does it make an impact?
- Why does it matter?
- Does research promote health equity for disadvantaged populations?
Some phrasing to consider:
Our research covers wide areas of . . . Our group emphasizes . . . Our primary research investigates, explores, examines . . . Our long-term goals are . . . The discoveries we make contribute to
. . . Our discoveries inspire the next generation of students. . .
Research Topics
- Dynamics of Biomolecules
- Force Transduction in Muscle
- Neurodegenerative Diseases
- Phase Transitions in Biology
- Protein Folding and Self-Assembly
- Systems biology and bio-networks
- Ultrafast Laser Spectroscopy
Projects
Facilities
- Biomanipulation and Microscopy Laboratories: Four optical tables and six research grade microscopes are configured to perform microscopic spectroscopy and manipulation on solutions and individual cells. A spatial light modulator allows spatial patterns to be encoded on samples and explored; all microscopes are temperature-controlled with state-of-the-art cameras, including a 2,000 frame-per-second high-speed system. Each optical table is also equipped with high power lasers for photolysis or fluorescence spectroscopy.
- Microfluidic attachments are available for use, and a small microfluidic fabrication facility has also been established.
- The fluorescence microscope resolves fast biomolecular dynamics in living cells.
- The Computational Biophysics Facility also includes two Beowulf clusters (44-node dual-core Xeon, 43-node dual quad-core Xeon [344 cores]), 24 TB RAID disk server, and 10 Linux workstations connected through a gigabit network.
Faculty
| Faculty member |
Contact |
Research Interests |
Research Discovery |
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Associate Professor; Associate Head for Undergraduate Studies
Disque Hall 912
ccruz@drexel.edu
|
- Spiking Neural Networks
- Synchronization in the firings of Neuronal Networks
- Micro/Minicolumns in the brain
- Brain Plasticity
- Traveling Waves in Low Dimensional Neuronal Networks
- Spatial correlations of neurons in the brain
- Confinement effects on the folding of amyloidogenic proteins
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Publications
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Professor
Disque Hall, room 922
fferrone@drexel.edu
|
- Sickle cell
- Protein self-assembly theory
- Molecular crowding
- Novel optical methods
- Microscopy
- Kinetics
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Publications |
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Professor; Associate Department Head for Graduate Studies
3141 Chestnut Street, 12-909,
Philadelphia, PA 19104
bu25@drexel.edu
|
- Intrinsically disordered proteins
- Biophysics of protein folding and self-assembly relevant to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease
- Protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions
- Discrete and all-atom molecular dynamics
- Molecular dynamics force field development
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Publications |