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Biological and Medical Physics
Research Groups
Superfine
Zhou
Lu
Washburn
Oldenburg
Taylor
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Applying the methods of physics to biological and biomedical problems
is an extremely diverse and richly rewarding area of scientific
inquiry. UNC is an excellent place to study biophysics, with more than fifty active research faculty including those in Physics & Astronomy detailed below, and those in the Departments of Biology, Pharmacology, Biochemistry & Biophysics, Cell & Developmental Biology, Chemistry, Cell & Molecular Physiology, Microbiology & Immunology, Mathematics, Computer Science, and the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products. Students entering Physics & Astronomy with an interest in biophysics can also apply for support by the Program in Molecular and Cellular Biophysics.
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Click here to see research projects from past Students in the Physics & Astronomy Department at UNC.
Faculty in the Physics & Astronomy Department at UNC offer a rich variety of PhD research opportunities in biophysics, ranging from single molecule to whole organ systems:
Physics graduate students work with the nanomanipulator in CISSM (Superfine group).
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Prof. Richard Superfine studies the nanoscale properties of molecules, nanotubes, molecular motors, DNA, viruses and cells. He develops and applies new techniques for these studies using optical, scanning probe, electron and magnetic force microscopes, all within his leadership of the NIH national center of Computer Integrated Systems for Microscopy and Manipulation (CISMM). Current experiments probe the mechanical properties of single molecules such as DNA, cells and cell cultures, while trying to understand force generation by the coupled motor systems that excite biological cilia. He leads the Virtual Lung Project, a collaboration of 15 senior investigators, to develop an integrated computational model of the lung. With the Computer Science Department and Prof. Russell Taylor, he has developed a Virtual-Reality enhanced interface for scanning probe microscopy, the "nanoManipulator," now sold by 3rdTech, Inc. and the winner of an R&D 100 award in 2001.
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Cardiac and respiratory-gated contrast-enhanced CT image of a mouse, segmented to highlight the vascular structure (Zhou group).
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Prof. Otto Zhou's research laboratory
currently conducts research focusing on the development of medical
imaging and radiotherapy instrumentations utilizing the carbon nanotube based
field emission x-ray technology developed by his team at UNC. The Zhou laboratory
consists of an interdisciplinary team of students, postdocs, research staff,
and collaborators from physics, materials sciences, biomedical engineering,
radiology, radiation oncology, and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
His current major research projects include:
- digital tomosynthesis for
imaging of human breast tumor (funded by NCI R01, NCI U54, UNC UCRF, and LCCC)
- dynamic micro-computed tomography for in vivo imaging of small animal cancer
models (funded by NIBIB R33, NCI U54)
- compact microbeam radiation
therapy for cancer research and treatment (funded by NCI RC2 and NCTraCS).
Prof. Jianping Lu offers research opportunities in nano scale science & technology related to biophysics including neural network modeling of the human brain, and carbon nanotube development for medical imaging.
Prof. Sean Washburn's research is mainly in the overlap between materials physics and biomedical systems. Examples include the use of DNA to link nanostructures into predictable patterns and fluid motion in model systems relevant to tissue function.
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OCT (top) and corresponding magnetic contrast OCT (bottom) with magnetic nanoparticles in gel (green) floating in a lipid emulsion (red). The scalebar is 200 microns.
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Asst. Prof. Amy Oldenburg joined the department in 2008 and has constructed the optical coherence imaging laboratory using state-of-the-art technology for addressing problems in biomedical imaging. Her primary interests include developing techniques to contrast novel magnetic and plasmon-resonant nanoparticle biomedical probes for molecular imaging in optical coherence tomography (OCT), to develop methods for mapping the viscoelastic properties of tissue in vivo, and to learn about disease mechanisms that both mediate and are mediated by tissue mechanics. These novel techniques provide a new window for studying biomedicine, allowing us to perform unique research in cystic fibrosis, breast cancer, and cardiology. Dr. Oldenburg is also an active member of the Biomedical Research Imaging Center, which promotes biomedical imaging and multi-disciplinary interactions across the UNC campus.
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Res. Prof. Russell Taylor is a Research Professor of Computer Science, Physics & Astronomy, and Applied & Materials Sciences. He is the co-director of the UNC NIH National Research Resource for Computer Integrated Systems for Microscopy and Manipulation. His research interests include Scientific Visualization, Distributed Virtual Worlds, Haptic Display, and Interactive 3D Computer Graphics. All of these come together in his role as the director of the computer science team studying nanoscale science, as part of a team of Physicists, Chemists, Gene Therapists, Biologists, Perceptual Psychologists, and Computer Scientists working together to develop improved interfaces for scanned-probe and other microscopes. These tools enable scientists to see, touch and manipulate nanometer-scale objects like viruses and carbon nanotubes, either from within the laboratory or across a computer network.
Russell teaches a course on Visualization in the Sciences each
spring, aimed at both computer scientists and natural scientists. It was offered as Comp 715, Physics 715, and Materials Science 715 in the spring of 2009.
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Model of the fibrin molecule (Falvo and Superfine).
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