Samuel L. Foley, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Theoretical/Computational Membrane BiophysicsT.C. Jenkins Department of Biophysics
Johns Hopkins University
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I am a postdoc in the Department of Biophysics at Johns Hopkins University, in the group of Margaret Johnson. I leverage the tools of statistical physics and high-performance computing to understand essential cellular functions. In particular, I have examined how cells exploit precisely tuned phase transitions and dimensional reduction in protein self-assembly to implement a sensitive and robust on/off switch for clathrin-mediated endocytosis, one of the primary pathways of cellular nutrient uptake. I also work on understanding how endocytosis happens at cell adhesions, where receptor proteins anchor the plasma membrane to external ligands (or other cells), creating a mechanical barrier for the creation of vesicles.
Previously, I was a graduate student in the Deserno group in the physics department at Carnegie Mellon, where I learned to use theoretical and computational tools to study lipid membranes. In my thesis work, I developed a modification of the utra-coarse-grained Cooke lipid model rendering it capable of simulating bilayers with differing tensions in the two monolayers, a state known as "differential stress". I then put this model to work investigating how differential stress alters first-order phase transitions in lipid membranes, shedding light on the recently-discovered "stiffening transition" observed in membrane simulations. I also developed a coarse-grained simulation technique (which we like to call membrane "sticky tape") to allow the simulation of asymmetric lipid bilayers with simultaneous area- and curvature-relaxation.
Contact
sfoley13 (at) jhu (dot) edu