IOP Tom Duke Prize Lecture on Biological Physics - Prof. Julia Yeomans (University of Oxford)

Start: 25 June 2025 3PM

Location: G22 North-West Wing followed by a reception in the G07 North-West Wing.

Title: Active Matter meets Biophysics: evading the decay to equilibrium

Abstract: Life defies equilibrium. Key examples are molecular motors that harness chemical energy to drive intracellular transport. Cells self-organise molecular components into complex structures that enable them to grow, reproduce, and move. At a larger scale, collections of cells follow coordinated pathways of division, differentiation and reorganisation as a single cell develops into a complex organism.
Active systems, driven by energy input at the level of individual particles, also exist out of thermodynamic equilibrium. Dense active matter shows complex collective behaviour: active turbulence, motile topological defects and co-ordinated flows, reminiscent of the rotation of cell clusters or the swirling patterns of a starling murmuration.
 In this talk, I will discuss how the physics of active matter offers fresh perspectives on mechanobiology and developmental biology: from expanding bacterial colonies and chick morphogenesis to the distribution and evolution of cancer lesions.

Host: Prof. Alexandra Olaya-Castro