Frontiers in Biophysics: Forum 2008

Frontiers in Biophysics: Forum 2008.

January 19, 2008, Downtown Vancouver's SFU Harbour Centre

General Participants
Other abstracts: Keynote and Workshops, Grad Talks & Posters

Participant	Abstract/Interest
John Bechhoefer Faculty Physics SFU	DNA replication, DNA conductivity, AFM/STM applications to biophysics, trapping techniques
David Boal Faculty Physics SFU	cell mechanics, paleobiology
Stewart Chang Post-doc Mathematics UBC	I am interested in mathematical and statistical modeling and their application to immunology. Specifically, I study antigen presentation, the process by which antigens are recognized as self or foreign, and how this specificity is achieved.
Jeanie Chui Undergrad student Physics SFU	I am interested in single molecule issue and current biophysics issue. Biophysics is a very interesting topics since it is interdisciplinary science, and I am now working in a biophysics research laboratory.
Eric Cytrynbaum Faculty Mathematics UBC	My primary research interest is in understanding, from a theoretical standpoint, various dynamical phenomena in cellular and molecular biology that rely on the dynamics and mechanics of the cytoskeleton, including microtubules, actin, molecular motors and associated regulatory proteins. Particular phenomena of interest include cell division, organelle localization, organelle length regulation and "self-geometry" sensing. I also work on theoretical models in cardiac electrophysiology, including the use of simple generic models of excitable media to understand the onset of certain dynamical cardiac arrhythmias.
Leah Edelstein-Keshet Faculty Mathematics UBC	I am interested in biochemical signalling to the actin cytoskeleton. I am working with Alexandra Jilkine and Yoichiro Mori on the role of small GTPases and on phosphoinositides in determination of cell polarity and in the initiation of cell motility.
Eldon Emberly Faculty Physics SFU	biological computation, biological networks, computational biology
Patrick Fletcher Grad student Mathematics UBC	I am interested in biological pattern formation and the mathematical modeling thereof. Specifically, cell physiology, electrophysiology, G-protein signaling.
Nancy Forde Faculty Physics SFU	My research interests centre on characterizing the mechanical properties of structural proteins. My lab builds and uses techniques of single-molecule manipulation (optical tweezers and magnetic tweezers) to probe the mechanical response of single molecules to applied forces and torque, at different temperatures and in different chemical environments. We are also interested in investigating the dependence of mechanical response on the sequence of these proteins, to guide design of new biomaterials and to better understand the role of mutations in connective tissue disorders. Fundamentally, we wish to develop a predictive model of mechanical response that relates the observed response to an underlying free energy surface.
Carl Hansen Faculty Physics UBC	.
Adam Haesler Grad student MBB SFU	My interest in the conference stems from my undergraduate background, and graduate interests. For my MSc I am studying an ion channel called HCN2, in the Young laboratory at Simon Fraser University. I have an interest in Mathematics, Biochemistry, and Biophysics, and am always looking for ways to expand my knowledge in these fields. Also, I am always keen to meet people with similar interests.
Carrie Heyes Undergrad student MBB SFU	.
Jennifer Hubbarde Grad student Mathematics UBC	Previous work was developing a model to estimate the fixation probability of lytic virus populations with periodic bottlenecks, where burst size is large and fixed, and generation times are exponentially distributed. Current work will be modelling the cell dynamics of HIV in the body.
Amirmohamad Keyvanloo Grad student Physics SFU	I am interested in lipid sciences and study the structural properties of lipid membranes. I use Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)spectroscopy to investigate the physical behavior of systems containing two (binary) or three (ternary) lipids. Such systems are called model membranes in which the level of ordering of the lipid chains are studied. More specifically, I study a model membrane containing sphingomyelin and cholesterol. By changing the concentration of cholesterol and collecting the NMR data at various temperatures I am aiming for mapping a partial phase diagram of this system.
Chang Min Kim Grad student Physics SFU	.
Jaegak Kim Undergrad student Biophysics UBC	Hi! It's my first time to join such a scientific event and I still need to study more than what I did study for my university life. However, personally I want to learn more about how the medicine travels in the body and want to develop new method or mechanism which works better(by faster). I also want to learn about the animal locomotion.
Koji Kinoshita Post-doc Biomedical Engineering Boston University	My research interest is to elucidate the mechanical function of cellular adhesion proteins, such as “Integrins”, by using BFP (Biomembrane Force Probe) method and by optical tweezers method. Those proteins not only mediate the external binding of cell-cell and cell-substrata adhesion at sites of inflammation. They may also play important roles in making internal networks with cytoskeletal proteins under the cell membrane. Therefore, I am aiming to know the signaling system of the adhesion proteins on a cell.
Anastasia Kuzmin Grad student Biology SFU	Vesicle trafficking in neurons
David Kwinter Undergrad student MBB SFU	Axonal transport of dense core granules in cultured hippocampal neurons
David Lee Grad student Physics SFU	Soft condense matter, Complex fluids, Polymers physics, Light scattering, Self-Assembly, Molecular membrane (Lipids), Cell mechanics, Molecular Dynamics
Michelle Lee R.A. Physics SFU	Single-molecule manipulation using magnetic tweezers
Hongbin Li Faculty Chemistry UBC	protein folding and unfolding at the single molecule level, protein engineering towards tailored mechanical properties
Yang Li Grad student Physics SFU	Feedback control in an information-theoretic approach. A feedback controller is commonly faced with a trade-off between observation and actuation. Maximizing the rate of information acquisition is a good strategy for measurement with insurficient information. In light of this idea, a feedback control system may be optimized by maximizing information flow within it. I intend to explore the possibility of optimizing a control system or measurement in this way. Finally, I would like to connect this limit to actual physical systems, to find out how close real systems perform relative to fundamental limits.
Karen Lo Undergrad student Biology SFU	I am primarily interested in the regulation of motor proteins and mechanisms of motor protein movement in microtubule-based intracellular transport.
Dan Luciani Post-doc Cellular and Physiological Science UBC	I have a general interest in the calcium signaling of pancreatic beta-cells, and recognize the strength of studying this (and similar questions) by a combination of experimental and theoretical means. My work has previously focused on the role of calcium-metabolism interactions in shaping the electrical and metabolic rhythms of the beta-cell. I am currently studying experimentally the role of intracellular calcium fluxes in the regulation of cell survival. This question is relevant for our understanding of the development of diabetes, as several variants of the disease are characterized by an increase in beta-cell death.
Thomas Luo Undergrad student Physics UBC	.
Andre Marziali Faculty Physics UBC	My aim is to develop new technologies for genomics and life sciences. My research group is engaged in a range of activities from engineering design of novel instruments for BC genomics groups, to development of automation for tissue microarray analysis, rapid genotyping, single molecule analysis methods using nanopores, and novel electrophoresis technologies. We collaborate with GenomeBC groups, the BC Cancer Agency Genome Sciences Centre, Stanford University, and University of California Santa Cruz. Recent emphasis in our group has been on development of a self-assembling nanosensor composed of an organic nanopore and a DNA/protein probe that is electrophoretically inserted into the pore. We have demonstrated the ability to detect and identify single DNA molecules across a lipid bilayer using this sensor, and have shown that DNA molecules differing by a single nucleotide can be distinguished. We have also recently developed a novel method of extracting and concentrating DNA from large volumes using a new form of non-linear electrophoresis. This method has significant commercial potential and is being commercialized through Boreal Bioengineering.
Alex Morriss-Andrews Grad student Physics UBC	.
Eirikur Palsson Faculty Biology SFU	I work on mathematical models in molecular and cellular systems. I also work on competition of organisms in ecological systems. My main focus is on studying cell signaling and cell movements, and how these processes combined with cell mobility and adhesion lead to the formation of a fully formed organism. I am also working on models studying resource competition in marine systems, under limited nutrients conditions.
Steven Plotkin Faculty Physics UBC	.
Erin Prosk Grad student Mathematics UBC	As a new graduate student, I am interested in discovering and learning as much as I can about current research in the field of mathematical applications to physical and biological systems. I am excited to participate in the group workshops as they may allow a closer look into techniques and methods used during the modelling process.
Joerg Rottler Faculty Physics UBC	Theory and simulation on soft condensed matter. Polymer physics, glassy materials and slow dynamics. Electrostatic effects in complex fluids.
Sara Sadeghi Grad student Physics SFU	.
Laleh Samii Grad student Physics SFU	I am interested in designing and constructing of artificial Molecular Motors from natural building blocks, without motor function, and studying their performance by using single-molecule experiments.
Marinko Sarunic Faculty Engineering Science SFU	Biomedical Imaging with Optical Coherence Tomography and Molecular Contrast in Biophotonic Imaging
Arnold Sikkema Faculty Physics Trinity Western	I'm interested in emergence and phase transitions in physical and biophysical systems, studying topics such as synchronization phenomena in biology and pattern formation, using my background in quantum phase transitions in condensed matter systems and in philosophical perspectives in physics.
Benjamin Smith Post-doc Physics & Pathology UBC	I use advanced micropipette aspiration techniques to probe the material properties of lipid bilayers. The dynamic rupture strength, nonlinear elasticity, and permeability of giant unilamellar vesicles are used as reporters of molecular-to-mesoscale interactions in membranes. Of particular interest: the lipid-condensing effect of cholesterol, the destabilization of membranes by antimicrobial peptides, and the perturbation of bilayer stress by membrane soluble drugs.
Suzana Straus Faculty Chemistry UBC	.
Venkata Tayi Grad student Michael Smith Labs UBC	My graduate research work involves the development of a mathematical model for retrovirus-mediated gene transfer into mammalian cells.
Jenifer Thewalt Faculty MBB/Physics SFU	Membrane structure & dynamics
Carolina Tropini Undergrad student Biophysics UBC	I am interested in applied biophysics, in particular in applications to clinical diagnostics.
Michael VanInsberghe Undergrad student Biophysics UBC	.
Mya Warren Grad student Physics UBC	I am interested in glassy dynamics in polymers and cellular structures.
Matthew Wiggin Grad student Physics UBC	.
Ruobing Yang Undergrad student Biophysics UBC	I am interested in the applications of physics to biological problems.
Edgar Young Faculty MBB SFU	Interests include electrophysiology, single-molecule techniques, and motors.
Martin Zuckermann Faculty Physics SFU	.