Physics of Life from the perspective of early career researchers:
​How do collaborative, interdisciplinary projects work to address key challenges at the interface of physics and the life sciences?

12 and 13 July 2021

Virtual Meeting Via Zoom Webinar
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Organised by:
Oliver Dyer (University of Warwick), Bohdan Bilyk (University of Sheffield), Claire Dilliway (Imperial College London), Elena Mandrou (University of Glasgow), Govind Menon (John Innes Centre),
​Daniel Mitchell (University of Exeter), Hugh Sparks (Imperial College London)

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Workshop Overview

Collaboration between the physical and life sciences has become increasingly important to solve research questions within both disciplines, with the realisation that tools and concepts traditionally used in physical sciences can be applied to biology challenges. To this end, the UKRI has funded eight interesting and wide-ranging interdisciplinary Physics of Life grants tackling problems including single molecule biophysics, bio-inspired engineering and the multiscale health impact of pollution.

This workshop will bring together early career researchers from across these projects to share the novel research that has been conducted by these grants and foster new potential collaboration. The challenges involved in working across disciplines and bringing this traditionally disparate knowledge together will also be explored. To support the development of a generation of truly interdisciplinary scientists - vital to addressing these challenges - this meeting will have a strong emphasis on giving early career researchers the opportunity to present their research.

Who should attend?

Participation is open to anyone interested in topics related to the Physics of Life. This workshop will feature talks from Early Career Reserachers representing each of the projects which were funded by the first call from Physics of Life SPF. There will be time dedicated to opening discussion on identifying ways to collaborate and strategies for working effectively across disciplines. For those unable to make the live event it is intended a recording of talks will be made freely available on YouTube.

Provisional Programme

The workshop will be held on two successive afternoons, to facilitate the involvement of colleagues from different time zones. All times below are BST.

Day 1	12 July
13.00	Welcome and What’s in the programme Oliver Dyer (University of Warwick)
13.15	Transcription and nuclear phase transitions project (University of Warwick) Chair: Daniel Hebenstreit​ Speakers: Oliver Dyer, Juntai Liu and Philip Davies
14.00	Stochastic fluctuations during mammary development and breast cancer morphogenesis (Francis Crick Institute and Imperial College London) Chair: Christopher Dunsby Speakers: Jorge Almagro, Hugh Sparks, Matthew Smith, Alejandro Torres-Sanchez
14.45	Refreshment Break
15.00	Biological physics of protein clustering in epigenetic memory and transcriptional control (John Innes Centre and University of York) Chair: Govind Menon Speakers: Govind Menon, Geng-Jen Jang and Alex Payne-Dwyer
15.45	​Mega-Pixel FLIM: Imaging Signalling Across Cell Collectives at Relevant Timescales (University of Glasgow and Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute) Chair: Robert Insall Speakers: Elena Mandrou and Valentin Kapitany
16.30	Discussion session  Chair: Christopher Dunsby (Imperial College London) Reflections on opportunities for collaboration
16.55	Outline of tomorrow’s sessions from Oliver Dyer (University of Warwick)
17.00	End of day one

Day 2	13 July
13.00	Welcome back Housekeeping and an overview of the workshop day and objectives Oliver Dyer (University of Warwick) Summary slides from day one projects (5 mins each) Oliver Dyer, Hugh Sparks, Elena Mandrou, Govind Menon
13.30	INHALE: Health assessment across biological length scales for personal pollution exposure and its mitigation (Imperial College London, University of Edinburgh and University of Surrey) Chair: Claire Dilliway Speakers: Teodora Georgescu, Michal Klosowski, Xiaofei Wu
14.15	Molecular Mechanics of Enzymes (University of Exeter) Chair: Frank Vollmer Speakers: Daniel Mitchell, Jesus Rubio and Nikita Toropov
15.00	​Refreshment break
15.15	The Physics of Antimicrobial Resistance (University of Sheffield, University of Edinburgh, Newcastle University and University of Cambridge) Chair: Abimbola Feyisara Olulana Speakers: Abimbola Feyisara Olulana, Jacob Biboy and Marco Mauri
16.00	Discussion session  Chairs: Daniele Faccio (University of Glasgow) and Daniel Hebenstreit (University of Warwick) - Reflections on opportunities for collaboration - Summary and discussion of synergies identified and next steps
17.00	​Networking session in Wonder (link provided within meeting)

Sketch notes

Dr Mathis Riehle (University of Glasgow) has kindly provided a series of science sketch notes for each talk from this event. Please see below. 

YouTube Videos