Biophysicists seek to apply the principles of physics and chemistry and the methods of mathematical analysis and computer modeling to pertinent questions in biology and medicine. Biophysics is predominantly a molecular science, and much effort in the field is directed towards determining the structures and physical properties of specific biological molecules and the larger structures into which they assemble. With the progress made in sequencing the human genome, these efforts are nowadays aimed toward large scale experimental and computational studies of complete metabolic networks. This covers a dramatic range of topics and size scales, and the Biophysics group in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Clemson University comprises researchers with diverse interests spanning from experimental biophysical nanoscience to computational theory. Distinguished by different experimental and theoretical approaches, the four Biophysics research groups in the department, headed by Professor Lyndon Larcom, Associate Professor Emil Alexov, Assistant Professor Pu-Chun Ke, and Assistant Professor Meredith Newby, are linked by common interests and goals for the department. Biophysics at Clemson University combines the use of single-molecule and nanoscale measurements, microscopic fluorescence imaging, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and traditional bulk solution biophysical characterization techniques. Computational Biophysics and Bioinformatics at Clemson University investigates putative protein-protein interactions and the structures of these complexes on a genome-scale, thus providing the necessary basics for structure-guided drug design.
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