Ajay Gopinathan

From Flocks to Swarms: Rewriting the Rules of Collective Cell Migration

This paper develops a cell-machine interface to program collective cell migration by rewriting cell-cell interaction rules using optogenetic control and computer vision.

Mechanisms of viral budding through cellular membranes

The paper develops a theoretical model to explain how membrane geometry and boundary conditions influence viral budding completion, showing that vesicle-like geometries favor closure while flat membranes can stall.

Cell Cluster Geometry and Fluidity Control the Transition from Single-Cell Chemorepulsion to Collective Chemotaxis

This study shows that cell cluster geometry and fluidity control the transition from single-cell chemorepulsion to collective chemotaxis through receptor trafficking and critical concentration thresholds.

SARS-CoV-2 membrane protein conformations induce distinct membrane curvatures

This study shows SARS-CoV-2 M protein conformations induce distinct membrane curvatures, matching virion regions and enabling spatial segregation through curvature-mediated interactions.

Multiple protein-protein interactions drive the assembly and budding of the Chikungunya virion

This study investigates Chikungunya virus assembly by combining simulations and experiments, showing that spike-spike interactions are critical for efficient budding and particle symmetry.

Clustering of SARS-CoV-2 membrane proteins in lipid bilayer membranes

This study shows that M protein interactions alone can drive clustering in ERGIC-like lipid bilayers, with direct interactions being stronger than membrane-mediated ones.

Sensing the shape of a surface by intracellular filaments

This paper develops a biophysical model to explain how MreB filaments localize to curved surfaces in bacteria, showing that their curvature preference is governed by mean and Gaussian curvatures.

Competitive binding and geometric changes allow fast, complete translocation of intact HIV-1 capsids through the nuclear pore complex

This paper develops a biophysical model to explain how HIV-1 capsids translocate through the nuclear pore complex, showing that competitive binding and geometric changes enable fast and complete nuclear import.

Membrane-bound cargo carried by teams of motors with heterogeneous velocities go faster and further than rigid cargo

The paper uses simulations to show that motor velocity heterogeneity increases lipid cargo transport speed and distance compared to rigid cargo.