Allen Ehrlicher

Dr. Ehrlicher investigates the specific molecular details of forces in biology that allow our bodies to function or cause them to fail while directing strategies for new kinds of active materials.

One of life's amazing feats is the conversion of chemical energy into active forces in precisely controlled ways, enabling us to take a walk, or our immune cells to chase infectious bacteria. In my research, we examine how biology generates forces and regulates its material properties, with a particular focus at the scale of 100 microns to nanometers. By studying molecules and cells, we try to understand the physics behind cellular processes of our body's function or failure, and also direct strategies for new kinds of composite materials inspired by biology.