I’m a theorist working on biological physics, soft condensed matter and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. More specifically, I develop analytical theories along with computational simulation for various biopolymer networks, e.g. cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix.

Motor-free Contractility in Active Gels

In this project we studied the non-equilibrium force generation in biopolymer networks. While it is believed that molecular motors (e.g. myosin) are responsible for most force generation in living systems, we proposed a mechanism named motor-free contractility, which generates an active contractile stress in biopolymer gels in the absence of motors.

Stress Relaxation of Transient-Crosslinked Networks

In this project we studied the stress relaxation of biopolymer networks due to unbinding/rebinding process of transient crosslinkers. We explain the glassy viscoelasticity of living cells using two effects: the fluidization of networks due to transient crosslinkers and the solidification of networks due to internal contractile stress from motors.

Effective Medium Theory for Non-affine Deformation

In this project we proposed an analytical theory for the non-affine (inhomogeneous) deformation of biopolymer networks, which is general to temperature, dimensionality and network structure. Our theory quantitatively predicts the linear and non-linear elasticity of networks, while explaining the stress-stiffening and strain-controlled critical phase transition of these networks.