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Biological and Soft Systems

The 21st Century has already seen major expansion in interdisciplinary research between physics and biological and medical sciences. We seek new answers to pressing topical questions, by using quantitative physical approaches (a combination of experiment, theory and computer simulation) and developing new technology, while working in non-traditional multidisciplinary teams.

The Biological and Soft Systems Sector of the Cavendish Laboratory (BSS) brings together researchers inspired from polymer science, soft and hard condensed matter, and statistical physics, and making use of a wide range of techniques from optics to mechanical testing, from molecular self-assembly to theoretical modelling, from nano/microfluidics to micromanipulation and advanced image analysis methods. Our experimental hub is in the centre for the Physics of Medicine, a recent and well equipped building on the Cavendish Laboratory site.

 Our Key Strengths are: 

Latest news

Lina Hacker’s paper on photoacoustic sensing of haemoglobin published.

25 November 2020

Lina has been investigating how photoacoustic imaging can be used to resolve species-specific differences in haemoglobin concentration and oxygen dissociation curves. Lina’s results show a clear relationship between...

A new Centre to promote multidisciplinary in Physical Biology

21 February 2020

The Launch Event of the Cambridge Centre for Physical Biology was held on the 20th of January at St John’s Old Divinity School. This newly create Centre aims to support and facilitate multidisciplinary collaborations across...

Dr Sarah Bohndiek awarded the CRUK Future Leaders Prize

7 November 2018

Congratulations to Sarah for this Early Career Prize - for developing new imaging tools to study the development and evolution of cancer, based on low cost optics and photonics technologies.

Seminar series in Cavendish

16 October 2018

Note the two new seminar series in Cavendish, replacing the previous BSS series.

Welcome new faculty colleague - Dr Diana Fusco

26 September 2018

Dr Diana Fusco has joined the Cavendish this Summer with a Lectureship, to set up a mixed experimental/computational research programme in biological physics. Her team will initially investigate microbial populations, growth and evolution, interactions between bacteria and phages.