Biography
I am a theoretician interested in problems at the interface of mathematics, physics and biology. I currently hold the Lynden-Bell Research Fellowship in Mathematics at Clare College, Cambridge. My current research interests revolve around the themes of flows (flows around and in between filaments, flows in membranes), motors (in particular, bacterial flagellar motors) and oscillators (synchronization of coupled non-linear oscillators, and biological rhythms more broadly). Previously, I was a postdoctoral research associate of Prof Jean-Francois Joanny at the Collège de France in Paris and carried out my doctoral studies in Prof Eric Lauga's group at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge. My doctoral work involved the use of mathematical modelling and numerical simulations to study the swimming of multi-flagellated bacteria such as the model organism Escherichia coli.
Positions
March-May 2024: David Crighton Visiting Fellow – Brown University (USA) since 2022: Lynden-Bell Research Fellow – DAMTP & Clare College, Cambridge (UK) 2021-2022: Postdoctoral Research Associate – Institute of Physics, Collège de France (France)
Education
2017-2021: PhD in Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics – DAMTP, University of Cambridge (UK) 2016-2017: MMath Applied Mathematics (Distinction) – Trinity College, University of Cambridge (UK) 2013-2016: BA Pure & Applied Mathematics (First Class Hons) – Trinity College, University of Cambridge (UK) 2011-2013: Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers – Dollar Academy, Scotland (UK) before 2011: Romanian High School Diploma (Science) – Colegiul National I.C. Brătianu, Hateg (Romania)
Teaching experience
2024: Part IA Vectors & Matrices (First-year undergrad, group size: 2) 2023: Part III Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics (Examples class for MMath/MASt students, group size: 10) 2023: Part IB Statistics (Second-year undergrad, group size: 2) 2018-2021: Part II Mathematical Biology (Third-year undergrad, group size: 2) 2018-2020: Topics in Fluid Mechanics (Preparatory workshops for MMath/MASt students, group size: 5-12) 2020: Part II Waves (Final-year undergrad, group size: 2) 2019: Part IA Differential Equations (First-year undergrad, group size: 2) 2017: Part IA Vectors & Matrices (First-year undergrad, group size: 2)
Awards & grants
2022: Senior Rouse Ball Studentship, Trinity College 2020: Runner-up, Smith Institute's annual TakeAIM competition 2017-2020: George and Lilian Schiff Studentship 2017-2019: Rouse Ball and Eddington Fund Travel Awards 2017: Honorary Vice-Chancellor’s Award 2017: Heilbronn Fund Travel Award 2015-2017: Senior Scholar of Trinity College 2016: Trinity College Summer Research Studentship 2015: Trinity College Language Bursary 2013: SQA Star Award for Academic Excellence 2011-2013: Full Scholarship from HMC Projects in Central and Eastern Europe
Talks & presentations
soon: Invited talk. North West Seminar Series of Mathematical Biology and Data Science (Liverpool, UK). soon: Invited talk. External seminar at Brown School of Engineering (Providence, RI). 2023: Invited talk. From Soft Matter to Biophysics 2023 (Les Houches, France) . "Bacterial Olympics: Multiflagellarity allows bacteria to maintain constant motility across cell size" 2023: Poster presentation, From Soft Matter to Biophysics 2023 (Les Houches, France) . "Cell-o-Tape: Physical modelling of cell adhesion to fluid membranes" 2023: Theory group seminar at Physico-Chimie Curie Lab. "Physical modelling of cell adhesion to fluid membranes" 2022: Invited talk. External seminar in the Continuum Mechanics and Industrial Mathematics group, University of Strathclyde (Glasgow, UK). "Hydrodynamics of multiflagellated bacteria" 2022: 75th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics (Indianapolis, IN). "Optimal swimming of multi-flagellated bacteria" 2022: International Workshop on Physics of Microbial Motility (Paris, France). "Bacterial Olympics: Multiflagellarity allows bacteria to maintain constant motility across cell size" 2022: Summer School “Active Matter and Complex Media” (Cargese, France). "Elastohydrodynamic Synchronization of Rotating Bacterial Flagella" 2022: Engineering Life 2021: Active matter across scales (Dresden, Germany). "Elastohydrodynamic Synchronization of Rotating Bacterial Flagella" 2022: Invited talk. UK BioActive Fluids Network Seminar Series for Early-Career Researchers. 2022: Invited talk. External seminar at MPI Physics of Complex Systems (Dresden, Germany) . “Elastohydrodynamic synchronization of rotating bacterial flagella” 2021: 74th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics (hybrid - Pheonix, AZ) . “Hydrodynamic interactions between bacterial flagellar filaments” 2021: APS March Meeting 2021 (online) . “Hydrodynamic interactions in bundles of bacterial flagella” 2020: Invited talk. Theory group seminar at Physico-Chimie Curie Lab (virtual - Paris, France). “Geometry and hydrodynamics of multiflagellarity in bacteria” 2020: 73rd Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics (virtual - Chicago, IL). “A new model for the hydrodynamic synchronisation of helical filaments” 2020: Invited talk. Annual Symposium of the Trinity Mathematical Society. “Locomotion: from basilisk lizards to bacteria” 2020: Biolunch Seminar Series, DAMTP, University of Cambridge. “Synchronisation of Rotating Helical Filaments” 2019: 72nd Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics (Seattle, WA). “Geometry and hydrodynamics of flagellar bundles” 2019: Poster presentation, UK Biofluids Network Special Interest Group (Warwick, United Kingdom). “The complex motion of multi-flagellated bacteria” 2019: Poster presentation, 9th 4U Summer School “Complex Motion in Fluids” (Gilleleje, Denmark). “The complex motion of multi-flagellated bacteria” 2019: Biennial Oxford-Cambridge “Wooly Owl” competition . “Pantene Pro-karyote: How bacteria keep their flagella tangle-free” 2019: Runner-up. Departmental speaking competition for second-year PhD students. “Pantene Pro-karyote: How bacteria keep their flagella tangle-free” 2019: Biolunch Seminar Series, DAMTP, University of Cambridge. “Helices under the microscope: What geometry tells us about bundling & tangling of bacterial flagella” 2018: 55th Annual Meeting of the Society of Engineering Sciences (Madrid, Spain). “Mechanics of bacterial flagellar bundles” 2018: 12th European Fluid Mechanics Conference (Vienna, Austria). “Mechanics of bacterial flagellar bundles” 2017: 70th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics (Denver, CO). “Artificial Chemotaxis of Phoretic Swimmers: Microscopic law and continuum model” 2017: Best speaker. Annual Symposium of the Trinity College Science Society. “Artificial chemotaxis of phoretic swimmers”
Additional research & work experience
2017: Summer research project (experimental) – ILM, Université Claude Bernard Lyon (France) 2016: Summer research project (theoretical) – DAMTP, University of Cambridge (UK) 2015: Summer internship (software development) – Metaswitch Networks, Cambridge (UK)