Physical Biology Group
Institute of Mathematical Sciences
“Things are similar: this makes science possible. Things are different: this makes science necessary.” – Richard Levins and Richard Lewontin (The Dialectical Biologist)
“The belief in an external world independent of the observing subject lies at the foundation of all natural science. However, since sense-perceptions only inform us about this external world, or physical reality, indirectly, it is only in a speculative way that it can be grasped by us. Consequently our conceptions of physical reality can never be final”. -Albert Einstein (Maxwell’s Influence on the Development of the Conception of Physical Reality)
We are an interdisciplinary group, operating at the interface of Physics, Statistics and Biology. The goal of our group is to uncover the governing mathematical principles of living matter. Over recent decades, there has been a surge in precise quantitative measurements in Biology spanning various length scales. The key task at hand is to develop equally quantitative models that can unearth the design principles of biological systems. To this end, we build falsifiable theoretical models that can be rigorously tested through an effective dialogue between theory and experiments. We firmly believe that this synergistic dialogue has the potential to uncover new frontiers in both the fields of Biology and Physics.