Center for the Physics of Biological Function | an NSF Physics Frontier Center

Vibrio cholerae undergoes a quorum-sensing-controlled program of rapid multicellular aggregation in liquid. Shown is a cross-section through V. cholerae aggregates labeled with a fluorescent protein
Phase-separated liquid droplets (red) formed in a crosslinked chromatin network (white). Mechanical interactions with chromatin determine the size of droplets
Force chains around a cell model in disordered fiber networks.
$Two students aligning optical components to observe an airy disk, the resulting diffraction pattern when light passes through a circular aperture.$
Victoria Lakshmi Antonetti and Hunter Seyforth. Aligning optical components to observe an airy disk, the resulting diffraction pattern when light passes through a circular aperture.
CPBF Summer school class of 2018
CPBF Fellows of 2019

The Center for the Physics of Biological Function (CPBF), a joint effort between The Graduate Center at CUNY and Princeton University, is one of eleven Physics Frontier Centers established by the Physics Division of the National Science Foundation Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS). We are a collection of scientists working at the interface of physics and biology with the goal of creating a physicist’s understanding of living systems: a physics of biological function that connects the myriad details of life, across all scales, to fundamental and universal physical principles. Our center focuses on new scientific opportunities and educational programs, integrating theory and experiment, research and education.

Research

Phase-separated liquid droplets (red) formed in a crosslinked chromatin network (white). Mechanical interactions with chromatin determine the size of droplets