UNM Biophysics

The University of New Mexico is the hub of a strong and growing biophysics research environment in New Mexico. If you're looking for a graduate research experience that includes exciting cellular and molecular biophysics research and a beautiful southwest climate, then we encourage you to look at our many programs!

Investigators

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  Steve Koch, Physics, Optics, CHTM
  Research group page
  Single-molecule biophysics, kinesin, DNA unzipping

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  Jim Thomas, Physics, Optics
  Fluorescence microscopy and fluctuation analysis to understand cellular membranes, membrane mimics, and lipid monolayers. Applications to intracellular signaling and biomimetic materials for biomedical applications.

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  Susan Atlas, Physics, CARC
  Research group page
  Reactive molecular dynamics simulation of motor proteins and nano/bio systems using density functional theory and novel multiscale charge-transfer force fields; machine learning, pattern recognition, and network analysis of gene expression in cancer; structural bioinformatics.

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  Keith Lidke, Physics
  Research group page
  Fluorescence Imaging Techniques: Single Particle Tracking, Single Molecule Imaging and Superresolution techniques for measuring protein-protein interactions at the sub-cellular level.

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  Peter Goodwin, Adjunct Physics, LANL/CINT
  Research group page
  Single-molecule spectroscopy and high-resolution optical imaging. Correlated atomic force and single-molecule fluorescence imaging for simultaneous single-molecule force-extension and fluorescence measurements. Single-molecule imaging of cellulase activity on cellulose and studies of riboswitch conformational dynamics.

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  Diane Lidke, Pathology
  

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  Evan Evans, Biomedical Engineering, CHTM
  Optical tweezers, single-molecule biophysics, ligand-receptor interactions

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  David Keller, Chemistry
  Bio-physical Chemistry, Molecular Machines, Single-Molecule Experiment and Theory, DNA Polymerases, Atomic Force Microscopy, Fluorescence Microscopy

How to Apply

The faculty and adjunct faculty carrying out molecular biophysics research at UNM and LANL belong to many academic programs. You can choose a graduate program best suited for you, or contact an investigator for guidance. Here are some of the programs:

• Physics PhD and MS programs.
• Optics PhD and MS programs.
• Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program in the school of medicine.
• Chemistry graduate program.
• Biomedical Engineering graduate program.
• Nanoscience and Microsystems graduate program.

Funding

The molecular biophysics research groups at UNM and LANL receive funding from diverse sources, including National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), Department of Energy (DOE), American Cancer Society (ACS), Human Frontier Science Program, and many others.