Biophysics

Overview

Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of chemistry and physics—among others—in order to study biological systems. Biophysicists conduct research concerned with understanding the interactions between the various systems of a cell, including the interactions between DNA, RNA and protein biosynthesis, as well as how these interactions are regulated. The Department of Physics works collaboratively with JILA as well as academic departments across campus in order to conduct research in this field.

Molecular Biophysics Program

The at the University of Colorado is a collaborative effort involving students, postdocs and faculty from four departments on the Boulder campus, including the Department of Physics. The program is jointly sponsored by NIH and CU. Participants share a common interest in biological systems, and seek to understand these systems in terms of physical and chemical principles.

The program sponsors  throughout the school year.

JILA-NIST Biophysics Division

The Biophysicists at  apply tools and concepts from physics to the understanding of living systems at the molecular level. This field promises to yield answers to important questions about the structure, dynamics, function, and interactions of biological molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. New instruments are allowing researchers to measure distances much shorter than the wavelength of light (nanometers) and forces as small as one trillionth of the force required to hold an apple against Earth's gravity (piconewtons). Biophysics researchers study protein dynamics, RNA folding dynamics, and single molecule biophysics.

IQ Biology Graduate Program

The physics department participates in the IQ Biology graduate program, which allows physics PhD students to take interdisciplinary courses in biophysics, do research rotations, and receive a certificate in IQ Biology as part of their PhD. More information and application information available at .

Biophysics Research Faculty

My research interests are in biophysics and soft condensed matter physics. Current projects focus on active soft matter and the physics of cell division.

Loren Hough

I currently study intrinsically disordered proteins using solution NMR. Proteins containing disordered domains perform many important cellular functions. The aggregations of this family of proteins is implicated in neuodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

My interests broadly span experimental studies of protein dynamics and photophysics in vitro and in vivo, and development of optical tools to explore biological function.

We are focused on understanding how nature has utilized voltage to control cellular physiology. We develop tools to measure the electrophysiological effects from genome wide libraries. We hope to uncover similarities and novelties of voltage-regulated physiology across biological kingdoms.

The Nesbitt Lab research interests include laser spectroscopy, dynamics, and kinetics of fundamental molecular, bio-molecular, and nanoparticle systems, studied at either the quantum state-to-state or single molecule level.

Our research focuses on single molecule measurements of biological systems. We specialize in developing and applying high precision measurements using optical traps and atomic force microscopes to answer these and other interesting questions.

We study the physics phenomena behind biomolecular assembly & interactions between cells. For example, the image to the right shows a nematic-like ordering of rod-shaped bacteria in the extracellular polymeric matrix of DNA.