Physics of Microbial Motility

ended

PHYMOT comprises academic and private partners, spanning eight EU countries in a collaborative research platform in the topical and fast growing area of the biophysics of microbial motility. Through PHYMOT leading European scientists in the field of microbial motility will deliver an interdisciplinary research and training program for the next generation of outstanding researchers, with excellent opportunities to move across theory and experiments, industry and academia, fostering inter-sectorial exchanges of individuals and ideas. The scientific objective is to understand the physics of cell motility, from single cells to collective behavior. Cell swimming underpins a wide range of fundamental biological phenomena from microbial grazing at the base of the food web, to parasitic infections, and animal reproduction. Research on cell motility is booming driven by new experimental, theoretical, and numerical tools from mathematics, engineering, and physics. Advances have provided fundamental new insights, from the constraints on single-cell propulsion to the optimality of responses to environmental clues, and promise new technologies based on control of microbial movement. PHYMOT’s impact will be broad. The overarching goal is to train young researchers at the interface between physics, biology, and engineering, creating future leaders to face core challenges of modern society: food production, disease treatment strategies, sustainable and ecological development. Their research and future careers will have a significant impact on a wide spectrum of important fields, such as medicine, biotechnology, and environmental microbiology.