來自美國 Northwestern University 的理論生物物理學家 John Marko，其研究主要聚焦於 DNA 與染色體的物理與機械性質。他建立了多種理論架構，用以描述單分子層級下 DNA 的彈性、扭轉力學、超螺旋（supercoiling）以及拉伸行為。他的研究也延伸到細胞環境中的 DNA 與染色體，例如建立模型來描述在有絲分裂過程中，DNA 如何透過 loop extrusion 機制壓縮形成染色體，以及分子擁擠效應（molecular crowding）如何影響轉錄因子的結合。在「生物物理中的隨機漫步（Random Walks in Biological Physics）」工作坊中，他將發表一場物理所 Colloquium 演講，並開設 4 堂關於 DNA、染色體與細胞核的講座。

此外，韓國浦項工科大學（POSTECH） 的 Jae-Hyung Jeon 教授也將在本次工作坊中開設 2 堂關於生命系統中異常擴散（anomalous diffusion）之隨機模型（stochastic modeling）**的課程。

更多資訊與報名方式，請參閱網站：
https://indico.phys.sinica.edu.tw/event/490/overview。

DNA replication, transcription, and repair are essential process of a cell. Dysregulation of these processes leads to diseases such as cancer. The mechanical properties of DNA such as its persistence length and topology affect these processes, too. There are many proteins interacting with DNA affecting DNA’s mechanical properties, too. John Marko from Northwestern University is a theoretical biophysicist whose research focus on the physical and mechanical properties of DNA and chromosomes.

He develops theoretical frameworks to describe DNA elasticity, torsional mechanics, supercoiling, and stretching at the single molecular level. He has also made contributions to understand DNA and chromosomes in the cellular context including models to describe DNA loop extrusion to compact chromosome during mitosis and how molecular crowding affects the binding of the transcriptional factors. 

To learn his work, please check out the workshop of random walks in biological physics. In a 3-day workshop, he will give a colloquium and 4 lectures on DNA, chromosomes, and nuclei. In addition, Jae-Hyung Jeon from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) in South Korea also join force in this workshop to give 2 lectures on stochastic modeling on anomalous diffusion process in Living Systems. For more details and registration, please check out this website https://indico.phys.sinica.edu.tw/event/490/overview.