Jing Chen

Major Fields of Interest

Theoretical and Computational Modeling of Cell Biology, Systems Biology, Spatiotemporal Regulation, Mechano-biochemistry

Current Research

Our current interests include coordinated motility in bacterial colony and mitotic signaling, with special emphasis on understanding the coupling between biological signaling and spatiotemporal regulation/mechanical interactions.

Biological systems self-assemble into highly heterogeneous and dynamic structures. Spatiotemporal regulation and mechanical interactions constitute integrated components of biological signaling mechanisms, but in most cases their specific functional roles are not well understood yet. Modern experimental tools allow high resolution live-cell imaging and dynamic force measurement; however, it remains difficult or impossible to simultaneously track all biomolecules and their activities in the complex biological systems. To fill the unavoidable void, we weave experimental data into physically viable models, which provides insights into functional roles of spatiotemporal regulation and mechanical interactions. We typically work in close collaboration with experimental groups to ensure effective feedback between theory and experiments.