Welcome to the Universality in Biology Group at Imperial College London. Based in the Department of Bioengineering, we investigate biological phenomena using tools from statistical mechanics, soft condensed matter physics, applied mathematics, and computational methods. Our research pushes the boundaries of both physics and biology by tackling biological problems that demand the development of new physical theory. We work closely with biologists and bioengineers, combining theory with experiment to generate new insights. Current areas of interest include protein amyloid self-assembly, cytoplasmic pattern formation, tissue homeostasis, and collective behaviours in living organisms.
Upcoming meetings and seminars I am presenting at or attending- 1st UK Biomolecular Condensate Network Symposium, 11-12 December 2025, Sheffield, UK
- International Symposium on 'Polymer Concepts in Cellular Function', 4-6 March 2026, Mainz, Germany
- Hydrodynamic Approaches to Active Matter: Successes and Future Challenges, November 2026, Dresden, Germany
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C.F. Lee (2024) It takes more than forceful leaders Nature Physics 20, 1532 |
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C.F. Lee (2020) Formation of liquid-like cellular organelles depends on their composition Nature 581, 144 |
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C.A. Weber, D. Zwicker, F. Jülicher and C.F. Lee (2019) Physics of Active Emulsions Reports of Progress in Physics 82, 064601 E-print: arXiv:1806.09552 |
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C.F. Lee and J.D. Wurtz (2019) Novel physics arising from phase transitions in biology Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics 52, 023001 E-print: arXiv:1809.11117. [Featured in a Thesis article in Nature Physics] |
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S. Gordon,
A.A. Rodriguez, Y. Gu, K.D. Corbett, C.F. Lee, and O Rog (2025) The synaptonemal complex aligns meiotic chromosomes by wetting Science Advances 11 eadt5675; bioRxiv 2024.08.07.607092 |
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P. Jentsch and C.F. Lee (2024) New universality class describes Vicsek's flocking phase in physical dimensions Physical Review Letters 133 128301. E-print: arXiv:2402.01316 |
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A. Cairoli, A. Spenlehauer, D.R. Overby, and C.F. Lee (2023) Model of inverse bleb growth explains giant vacuole dynamics during cell mechanoadaptation PNAS Nexus, pgac304; bioRxiv: 2022.06.26.497642 |
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A. Killeen, T. Bertrand and C.F. Lee (2022) Polar Fluctuations Lead to Extensile Nematic Behavior in Confluent Tissues Physical Review Letters 128 078001. E-print: arXiv:2107.03838 [Featured in Physics Magazine, PRL Editors' suggestion] |
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A.W. Folkmann, A.A. Putnam, C.F. Lee, and G. Seydoux (2021) Regulation of biomolecular condensates by interfacial protein clusters Science 373 1218. [Featured in a Perspective article in Science] |
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L. Pytowski, C.F. Lee, A.C. Foley, D.J. Vaux and L. Jean (2020) Liquid–liquid phase separation of type II diabetes associated IAPP initiates hydrogelation and aggregation Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 117 12050. |
