About

I’m a postdoctoral researcher at Brandeis University, currently working with Prof. Hannah Yevick.

My research focuses on soft matter physics- the squishy, messy physics that exists in intermediate length and temperature scales. I’m interested in understanding self-assembly, which is a process where small subunits can spontaneously put themselves together into some larger organized structure. Self-assembly occurs in all sorts of synthetic and biological systems, and gives rise to much of the structure we see around us every day. My past and current work have common themes of understanding and modeling the assembly of microscopic materials, both synthetic and living; of tracking particles in 3D space; and of extracting physical information from complex dynamics.

Currently, I’m studying the formation of large, multinuclear syncytia, like the structure that protects the mother-fetal barrier in the placenta. This biomaterial is formed when many cells merge together, a process I’m trying to understand from a mechanical perspective.

My previous research during my graduate studies at Harvard University with Prof. Vinothan Manoharan focused on a different soft, microscopic system: colloidal suspensions. At Harvard, I developed methods to improve the characterization and tracking of colloidal spheres with an imaging technique called holographic microscopy. I investigated how to use these improved techniques to unravel the dynamics of freely interacting spheres and to precisely infer the forces between them. If you want to learn more about our work in the Manoharan Lab, check out this article I co-authored for the Harvard Physics Magazine.