Research endeavors in my laboratory are motivated by the intriguing properties of surfaces and thin films. Over the years, our group has focused on a broad range of topics spanning from fundamental studies of cold-welding between rough metallic surfaces to the design of novel biological membrane structures for use in in-vitro fertilization. What unites our … Continued
Genetic engineering is undergoing a revolution, where next-generation technologies for DNA and host manipulation are enabling larger and more ambitious projects in biotechnology. Automated DNA synthesis has advanced to where it is routine to order sequences >100,000bp where every base is user-specified, the turnaround time is several weeks, and the cost is rapidly declining. Recently, … Continued
My research focuses on understanding and designing the properties of equilibrium and nonequilibrium forms of soft matter—including colloidal dispersions and assemblies, complex fluids, macromolecular solutions, glassy solids, and particle packings—using principles from statistical mechanics, optimization, and data science.
My current research interests include non-Newtonian fluid mechanics (especially in the area of elastic instabilities, and turbulent drag reduction), nonequilibrium polymer statistical dynamics (focusing on single molecules studies of DNA), and suspension mechanics (particularly particles in viscoelastic fluids and particles/vesicles/capsules in microfluidics).
My research focuses on single polymer dynamics and molecular materials, specifically on the ability to manipulate and control single molecules. My research group’s work in single polymer dynamics has revealed the fundamental features that determine the structural and functional properties of soft materials, including polymers with complex molecular architectures (combs, rings), chemically heterogeneous polymers (DNA-synthetic … Continued
Our group specializes in using engineered tissues and computational models to understand how mechanical forces direct developmental patterning events during tissue morphogenesis and during disease progression. We are specifically focused on uncovering key insights into how tissues build themselves and how mechanical forces induce cancer progression.
My research group aims to develop protein therapeutics to treat and vaccines to prevent infectious diseases, using a combination of biological and engineering principles. This work primarily focuses on design of proteins, using evolutionary, structural and computational apporaches. The antibody which served as the focus of my doctoral work was subsequently licensed and developed as … Continued
DNA sequencing by synthesis (SBS) during polymerase reaction offers a robust platform to decipher DNA sequences. My group is pursuing the research and development of several SBS approaches using molecular engineering for applications in precision medicine. In one SBS method, 4 nucleotides (A, C, G, T) are modified as nucleotide reversible terminators (NRT) by attaching … Continued
I work at the interface between physical/engineering modeling and data science; in particular, my work links manifold learning/machine learning tools with established scientific computing tools/numerical analysis. This work extends the “equation free, variable free” modeling introduced around 2000. I am also very much interested in applications of this data driven technology to engineering and biomedical … Continued
Changes in cellular behavior underlie development, disease, and tissue homeostasis. The response of cells to external factors depends upon posttranslational signals and changes in gene expression. These biomolecules are wired together in cells to form networks. Intracellular signaling and gene-expression networks are highly interconnected and time dependent, making them difficult to study and even harder … Continued