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

Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

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
Genetics and Genomics

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.

Reviewing editors

Patricia Bassereau

Institut Curie, France

Expertise
Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics
Cell Biology
Physics of Living Systems

Research focus
membrane mechanics
membrane trafficking
endocytosis
in vitro reconstituted membrane systems
membrane curvature
filopodia
membrane organization
Gordon Berman

Emory University, United States

Expertise
Computational and Systems Biology
Neuroscience
Physics of Living Systems

Research focus
theorectical and computational biophysics
animal behavior
bio-locomotion
computational neuroscience
machine learning
dimensionality reduction
dynamical systems

Experimental organism
D. melanogaster
mouse
rat
human
Stephanie Fraley

University of California San Diego, United States

Expertise
Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine
Physics of Living Systems

Research focus
cell-ECM interactions
biomaterials
cell migration
Raymond E Goldstein

University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

Expertise
Physics of Living Systems

Research focus
Biological physics
fluid dynamics
multicellularity
developmental biology

Experimental organism
Chlamydomonas
volvox
choanoflagellates
dinoflagellates
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
biophysics of hearing
Michael Kozlov

Tel Aviv University, Israel

Expertise
Cell Biology
Physics of Living Systems

Research focus
modeling membrane shapes
membrane curvature
membrane fusion
membrane fission
membrane bending by proteins
Sandeep Krishna

National Centre for Biological Sciences ‐ Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, India

Expertise
Physics of Living Systems
Cell Biology

Research focus
conflict and cooperation in cellular populations
computation using active cellular processes
coarse-graining biological networks
feedback control in cellular regulatory networks
oscillations
synchronization and entrainment
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
M. 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
Pierre Sens

Institut Curie, France

Expertise
Physics of Living Systems

Research focus
physics of living matter
physics and organization of cellular processes
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
Jie Xiao

Johns Hopkins University, United States

Expertise
Cell Biology
Chromosomes and Gene Expression
Microbiology and Infectious Disease
Physics of Living Systems

Research focus
single molecule biophysics
bacteria
cell wall
cell division
gene regulation
chromosome conformation

Experimental organism
B. subtilis
E. coli
human