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Natural environments are complex and dynamic, and organisms must be able to sense and respond to constantly changing mechanical stimuli as they move through their surroundings. This can be observed across levels of biological organization: proteins remodel themselves in response to external stresses, cells adapt their movement in response to changes in media or substrate, animals vary their stepping patterns with walking speed and type of terrain. I'm interested in the relationship between structure and function in such adaptable systems moving through variable environments.
While the underlying mechanisms may vary as we shift our focus from molecular motors to bacteria to animals, the larger questions remain the same:
- How do biological systems sense and respond to mechanical stresses in complex environments?
- What performance tradeoffs does adaptability/flexibility pose for biomechanical systems?
- How do flexible locomotive strategies affect the evolution of structure in locomotor systems?
We use both theory and experiment (laboratory + field) to answer these questions and are excited to work with techniques from biomechanics, biophysics, mechanical engineering, and more. Research in the lab currently centers around two broadly defined organismal systems: flagellated bacteria and walking panarthropods, but we are fascinated by a huge range of questions and organisms.
For more details on past and ongoing projects in the lab, check out our website (http://nirodylab.uchicago.edu) or get in touch to chat!
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