Dr. Daniel Needleman

Biography

Daniel Needleman is the Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics and a Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University. His research focuses on the combination of physics and cell biology to study biological self-organization. He seeks to obtain a quantitative understanding of biological systems, particularly how mechanics and energetics affect self-organization and how these principles change in the context of disease and evolution. His research on self-organizing biological systems includes examples like active matter and the energy transduction at a molecular level. His long-term goals are to uncover general principles that govern non-equilibrium systems and to develop predictive theories for biological organization and behaviors. Needleman's approach combines quantitative experiments with theoretical work and involves the development of new methods to produce data in complex biological systems.

Research Interests