BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
4
MARCH
2014
Biophysical Journal Corner
Know the Editors
Charles Wolgemuth
University of Connecticut
Health Center
Editor for
Systems Biophysics Section
Q:
What is your area of research?
I am broadly interested in understanding mechanisms
in biology, and it is likely my background in physics
that caused me to gravitate specifically toward
addressing questions about how cells move. Cellular
movements play a substantial role in many areas of
biology, including multi-cellularity, development,
and disease. For example, many bacterial infections
require that bacteria migrate to a hospitable place in
the host. Our white blood cells then must be able to
move to these locations to eradicate the bacteria.
My group focuses on understanding how the
bacterium that causes Lyme disease is able to penetrate
through dense polymeric and cell-filled environments,
such as the extra-cellular matrix or blood vessels,
in order to infect the skin and penetrate into joints
and the central nervous system of mammalian hosts.
We are also investigating the biophysics of multi-
cellular movements during wound healing, cancer
metastasis and tissue structure formation.
My scientific attitude is founded in doubt; I do not
trust my own thinking. Therefore, if I am unable to
frame a mechanism within a mathematical model
that can quantitatively explain experiments, then I do
not understand the biology. Our research approach
uses mathematical models to develop hypotheses,
and then test these hypotheses using quantitative
experiments, typically involving imaging to watch
cell movements in real-time. This combination of
modeling and experiment has enabled us to develop
a model that can explain the dynamics of rash forma-
tion during early Lyme disease. We plunge forward
to who-knows -what next.
New & Notables
The following is a list of New &Notable articles re-
cently published in
BJ
. Visit
to read
these articles.
SAXS/SANS probe of intermolecular interactions in
concentrated protein solutions
by
Huan-Xiang Zhou
and
Osman Bilsel
, which highlights the papers:
Minimal
Effects of Macromolecular Crowding on an Intrinsically
Disordered Protein: A Small-Angle Neutron Scattering
Study
and
Self Crowding of Globular Proteins Studied by
Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering,
both by
David Goldberg
and
Brian Argyle
.
Star Light, Star Bright, First Molecule I See Tonight
by
Christopher Yip
, which highlights the papers:
Eliminat-
ing unwanted far-field excitation in objective-type TIRF.
Part I. Identifying sources of non-evanescent excitation
light
by
Martin Oheim
,
Maia Brunstein
,
Maxime
Teremetz
,
Karine Hérault
and
Christophe Tourain
, and
Eliminating unwanted far-field excitation in objective-
type TIRF. Part II. Combined evanescent-wave ex-
citation and supercritical-angle fluorescence detection
improves optical sectioning
by
Martin Oheim
,
Maia
Brunstein
and
Karine Hérault
.
Does Ephaptic Coupling Contribute to Propagation in
Cardiac Tissue?
by
Bradley Roth
, which highlights the
paper:
Microdomain Effects on Transverse Cardiac
Propagation
by
James Keener
and
Joyce Lin
.
Mechanically guided cell migration: less of a stretch than
ever
by
Guy Genin
and
Elliot Ellson
, which highlights
the paper:
Mechanical Boundary Conditions Bias
Fibroblast Invasion in a Collagen-Fibrin Wound Model
by
Jeffrey Holmes
and
Andrew Rouillard
.
The Berg-Purcell Limit Revisited
by Sean Sun, which
highlights the paper:
The Berg-Purcell limit revisited
by
Pieter Rein ten Wolde
,
Kazunari Kaizu
,
Wiet De Ronde
,
Joris Paijmans
,
Koichi Takahashi
and
Filipe Tostevin
.
Charles Wolgemuth
The article
Spatio-
temporal Evolution
of Erythema Migrans,
the Hallmark Rash
of Lyme Disease
by
Charles Wolgemuth
and
Dhruv Vig
, is sub-
ject of a recent press
release issued by Cell
Press. See the Febru-
ary 4 issue of
Biophysical Journal
.
BJ in the Press
High Resolution:
In Vivo Optical
Imaging
This latest in a series
of webinars pre-
sented by
Biophysical
Journal
is available
online at
Moderated by
Dave Piston
of the
Vanderbilt School
of Medicine
