Editors for Physics of Living Systems

We aim to publish studies in which experimental, theoretical, and computational approaches, rooted in the physical sciences, are developed and/or applied to provide deep insights into the collective properties and function of multicomponent biological systems and processes. We also welcome descriptions of methods that could enable the interrogation of classes of biological systems in new ways, as well as interdisciplinary studies that bring together scientists and approaches from the physical and life sciences. Read the latest research in this subject area.

Type

All sections

Senior editors

Naama Barkai

Senior Editor

Naama Barkai is a systems and computational biologist interested in how bio-molecular circuits are designed. She joined the Weizmann Institute in 1999, following a post-doc (Princeton) and graduate studies (Hebrew University) in physics. She is currently chair of the Department of Molecular Genetics, and the head of the Azrieli and Kahan Centers for Systems Biology at the Weizmann Institute. In 2013, Barkai was elected to a Vallee Foundation Visiting Professorship and awarded the Abisch Frankel prize.

Expertise
Computational and Systems Biology
Physics of Living Systems

Research focus
systems biology
modeling
functional genomics
yeast genetics
morphogen gradients

Competing interests statement
Naama Barkai's main funding sources are from the European Research Council (ERC), the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP), the Israel Science Foundation (ISF), Minerva, and the Bi-national Science Foundation (BSF). Barkai also serves on the editorial board of Development.
Arup K Chakraborty

Senior Editor

Arup K Chakraborty is the Robert T Haslam Professor of Chemical Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, and Biological Engineering at MIT. He is the founding Director of MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science. He is also a founding steering committee member of the Ragon Institute of MIT, MGH, and Harvard, and an Associate Member of the Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard. After obtaining his PhD in chemical engineering and postdoctoral studies, he joined the faculty at the University of California at Berkeley in December 1988. He rose through the ranks, and ultimately served as the Warren and Katherine Schlinger Distinguished Professor and Chair of Chemical Engineering, Professor of Chemistry, and Professor of Biophysics at Berkeley. He was also Head of Theoretical and Computational Biology at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. In September 2005, Chakraborty moved to MIT.

His entire career has been focused on research at the intersection of disciplines. After an early career in engineering of polymers and catalysts, since 2000 Chakraborty’s work has focused on bringing together immunology and the physical and engineering sciences; more specifically, the intersection of statistical mechanics and immunology. His interests span T-cell signaling, T-cell development and repertoire, and a mechanistic understanding of HIV evolution, antibody evolution, and vaccine design. Chakraborty’s work at the intersection of disciplines has been recognized by numerous honors, including the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award, the EO Lawrence Medal for Life Sciences from the US DOE, the Allan P Colburn and Professional Progress awards from the AIChE, a Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar award, and a National Young investigator award. Chakraborty was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering for completely different bodies of work. He is also a member of the National Academy of Medicine, making him one of 21 individuals who are members of all three branches of the US National Academies. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and serves on the US Defense Science Board. Chakraborty has received four teaching awards at Berkeley and MIT.

Expertise
Computational and Systems Biology
Immunology and Inflammation
Physics of Living Systems

Research focus
computational biology
immunology
statistical mechanics
signaling
virology
protein evolution

Competing interests statement
Arup Chakraborty is funded by the NIH and the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard.

Reviewing editors

Raymond E Goldstein

University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

Expertise
Physics of Living Systems

Research focus
active matter
multicellularity
biomechanics
biological fluid dynamics
cytoskeleton
flagella

Experimental organism
Chlamydomonas
Volvox
Chara
choanoflagellates
Tony Hyman

Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Germany

Expertise
Cell Biology
Physics of Living Systems

Research focus
cell division
cytokinesis
cell polarity
organelles

Experimental organism
C. elegans
Frank Jülicher

Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Germany

Expertise
Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics
Physics of Living Systems

Research focus
active cellular processes
physics of the cytoskeleton and motor proteins
physics of cell division
tissues and developmental processes
ear and hearing
Tam Mignot

Aix-Marseille University, France

Expertise
Microbiology and Infectious Disease
Physics of Living Systems

Research focus
signal transduction
motility
bacterial development
bacterial cell biology

Experimental organism
myxococcus xanthus
Richard A Neher

University of Basel, Switzerland

Expertise
Computational and Systems Biology
Physics of Living Systems
Evolutionary Biology

Research focus
population genetics
evolution of RNA viruses
bioinformatics
Aleksandra Walczak

Ecole normale superieure, France

Expertise
Computational and Systems Biology
Physics of Living Systems

Research focus
systems biology
gene regulatory networks
immune system
population genetics

Experimental organism
zebrafish