Derek Stein
Assistant Professor of Physics:
Physics
Phone: +1 401 863 2581
Bio-nanoscience and single-molecule biophysics. I am interested in using nanostructures to study the structure and behavior of individual biological molecules, the fundamental building blocks of life.
Biography
Prof. Stein joined the Physics Department at Brown in the fall of 2006, following postdoctoral work at the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. He obtained his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Harvard University in 2003, and his B.Sc. from McGill University in 1997. Prof. Stein's research has focused on the study of single biomolecules, and the use of nanofabricated structures to manipulate them.
Interests
Biomolecules such as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), ribonucleic acid (RNA) and proteins are the fundamental machinery of life. Individual biomolecules can now be studied at their natural, molecular length scales using nanofabricated tools such as solid-state nanopores and nanofluidic devices. These recent advances highlight two important ideas: First, the behavior of biomolecules on the nanoscale represents an important and largely unexplored regime in which interesting new physics can dominate. Second, nanostructures can achieve exceptional sensitivity in the study of molecular biophysics that may ultimately revolutionize diagnostic applications.
Our research is focused on developing and implementing new tools for the study of individual biomolecules, while exploring new Physics in such nanoscale systems.
Teaching
I am interested in teaching biophysics from the perspective of a Physicist. My fascination with life has grown with an appreciation of the physical laws that constrain it. The emerging study of biology at the level of single molecules highlights how ingeniously and effectively living systems overcome the challenges thrown at them. As a teacher, I seek to share my amazement of life, while building a solid understanding of the physics that underlie biology.
Funded Research
NSF, "Electro-fluidics for single-molecule biophysics", $405,000 awarded for 09/2008 - 08/2011.
Intel, "Electronic DNA barcode sequencing", $80,000 awarded for 01/2009-12/2009
NSF, "CAREER: Probing the Sequence and Dynamics of Single DNA Molecules Using Solid-State Nanopores, Optical Tweezers, and Binding Proteins", $400,000 awarded for 08/2009 - 07/2014.
