Research

I'm a theoretical Physicist by training, trading into biological systems to understand complex phenomena. Broadly, my research interest lies in between Statistical Physics and Biophysics. Specifically, I work in three different topics which are listed below.

Chromatin Organization

Human DNA is about 2 metre long, packed inside a nucleus of diameter 6-11 microns. The packing of DNA needs to be both dynamic and robust to facilitate various biological process e.g. transcription, translocation, replication, repair etc. I use coarse-grained models to study how chromatin/DNA is packed inside the nucleus, especially how multivalent binding proteins determine the structure and organization of chromatin

Motor Proteins

Another aspect of my research involves the biological motor proteins. These motor proteins are processive and transport vesicles along the microtubule/actin tracks inside the cell. Motor proteins also exert forces on the microtubule/actin networks and play a crucial role in stabilization of these networks. I explore how various physical properties of these molecular motors affect the stability of these motor-filament organizations.

First Passage Times

I also study first passage time problems in context of intracellular transport, DNA transcription etc. The time to reach a point B from a point A for the first time is known as the First Passage time. The efficiency and accuracy are paramount for various biological processes. Specifically I investigate how different biophysical properties of any system influence the first passage times of these systems.