Team

Keita Kamino

Principal Investigator

Keita is an Assistant Research Fellow at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Academia Sinica, in Taipei, Taiwan. Before joining IMB in 2022, he studied physics at the University of Tokyo, where he earned his Ph.D. in Biophysics in 2013 for research on cell-to-cell signaling in the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum, under the supervision of Kunihiko Kaneko and Satoshi Sawai. He then conducted postdoctoral research with Tom Shimizu at the FOM Institute AMOLF in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and with Thierry Emonet at Yale University in the USA. During this time, he developed a single-cell FRET measurement technique for studying the E. coli chemotaxis pathway and integrated it with various mathematical frameworks, including dynamical systems theory, information theory, and Bayesian inference. He currently holds a joint appointment as an Assistant Research Fellow at the Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, and as an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Physics, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University.

Ivan Sigmund

Postdoc

Ivan holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Zagreb, Croatia. His background is in biophysical modeling, where he studied how microtubules and chromosomes interact and position during mitosis. He is currently exploring how measurements can be viewed as communication, using information theory to optimize FRET microscopy and improve how information is extracted from biological systems.

Silpa mariya

Postdoc

Silpa completed her PhD in Soft Matter Physics at the IITB-Monash Research Academy, India, where she investigated the rich interface of polymer physics and biology. Her doctoral work focused on modelling how bacteriophages move through mucus using Brownian Dynamics simulations. She is now studying the complex motion of bacteria and the strategies they use to sense and navigate their environments through chemotaxis. Other than science, Silpa enjoys discovering new places and expressing her creativity through dance.

Alan Givré

Postdoc

Alan holds a PhD in Physics from University of Buenos Aires, from Argentina. He is a theoretical Biophysicist. He has worked in Systems Biology and Biophysics of Information. His doctoral work focused on the role dynamics have in enriching the information flow in Signal Transduction Networks. Now he is exploring information flow in chemotaxis in bacteria. He is interested in Physics of Complex Systems and has also studied Sociology. He has a great passion in learning many things, and values friendship, deep conversations and loves walking. He also dances Tango.

Sovie Anggraeni

Research Assistant

Sovie, holds a double Master’s degree in Food and Nutrition from Providence University, Taiwan. Her Master’s thesis focused on immunology, specifically investigating the anti-inflammatory effects of a bioactive compound on intestinal cells induced by a chemotherapy drug. Currently, she is interested in the genetic modification of bacteria for FRET (Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer) measurement. In free time, she likes to go to beautiful places, eating delicious food, reading comics, and socializing. Also party all night (John said)

Jauhar Syauqi

Research Assistant

Auqi is graduated from the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, NTU, Taiwan and the Plant Pathology Program, Brawijaya University, Indonesia. His master’s thesis focused on the interaction of rice and rice blast disease. Currently, he is investigating the response of E. coli to conflicting stimuli. Apart from the lab, he enjoys playing guitar and taking pictures.

Crisandro Allen R. Lazo

Research Assistant

Allen is broadly interested in the physical laws that govern biological systems. During his bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry at the University of the Philippines Manila, he studied how stochasticity alters the response of gene regulatory networks to signals, from the perspective of nonequilibrium thermodynamics. Currently, he is working on machine learning and image analysis to develop our unique, long-term, 3D tracking system. In the long run, he hopes to solve how the network architecture of E. coli‘s motility proteins shape its properties across scales of organization. Outside the lab, he enjoys listening to the nerd music. Certified best chemist in all the Philippines (Sasha read somewhere).

Alejandro Moran Horowich

Research Assistant

Sasha holds an MSc in Stem Cell Engineering and Regenerative Medicine from the University of Glasgow. Previous vast experience with stem cells, he is now investigating the chemotaxis of Agrobacterium fabrum. Enjoys reading, traveling, tinkering with random projects, and looking for excuses to leave his desk to get a coffee. He is the best customer of Louisa (Auqi said).

Ethan Huang

Summer Intern Student

Ethan Huang, an undergraduate from National Taiwan University, is majoring in Life Science. He is interested in molecular biology, particularly molecular interactions inside cells. Currently, he is working on E. coli gene modifications to study bacterial chemotaxis.