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Designing novel materials with biological components

Cytoskeletal polymers and motors possess a myriad of properties that affect the shape of cells, their ability to deform or resist deformation, and their ability to transport materials. My project involves building these behaviors in a test tube with purified protein components and comparing to computer simulations. The goal of this work is to understand the microstructural explanations for cytoskeletal functions in vivo and harness them for design of materials that can transport things.