Atomic force microscopy image of a chick glial cell. The bright white spot is the nucleus.
Education
Ph.D. (Physics) University of Pennsylvania (2009)
B.Sc. Hons. (Physics) Memorial University (2004)
Awards
Human Frontier Science Program Long Term Fellowship (2010-2013)
Junior Research Fellowship, Clare College, Cambridge (2010-2013)
Career Development Fellowship, Medical Research Council (2009-2010)
XXth International Fibrinogen Workshop Travel Award (2008)
Nanoday at Penn, Best Image (2006, 2009)
NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship (2004-2008)
Offered NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship only tenable in Canada
3 NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards (2001-2003)
Lou Visentin Award, Faculty of Science, Memorial University (2003)
Faculty of Science Dean's List, Memorial University (1999-2003)
Atlantic Accord Scholarship (2001)
Selected Publications
See below for a complete list.
A. Zemel*, F. Rehfeldt*, A.E.X. Brown, D.E.
Discher, S.A. Safran, Optimal matrix rigidity for stress-fiber polarization in stem cells.
Nature Physics 6:468-473 (2010)
[Abstract]
[pdf]
News and Views by Erich Sackmann
*contributed equally
A.E.X. Brown, R.I. Litvinov, D.E. Discher, P.K.
Purohit, J.W. Weisel.
Multiscale Mechanics of Fibrin Polymer: Gel Stretching with Protein
Unfolding and Loss of Water.
Science
325:741-744 (2009)
[Abstract] [pdf]
Press: [Eurekalert]
[NPR]
A.E.X. Brown*, A. Hategan*, D. Safer, Y.E. Goldman,
D.E.
Discher, Cross-correlated TIRF/AFM reveals Asymmetry in Self-assembled
Synthetic Myosin Filaments. (2009)
Biophysical Journal
96:1952-1960.
[arXiv]
[Abstract]
[pdf]
*contributed equally
I.M. Kulic, A.E.X. Brown, H. Kim, C. Kural, B. Blehm,
P.R. Selvin, P.C. Nelson, V.I. Gelfand, The Role of Microtubule Movement
in Bidirectional Organelle Transport. (2008)
Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci.
105:10011-10016
[Abstract]
[arXiv] [pdf]
A.E.X. Brown, R.I. Litvinov, D.E. Discher, J.W.
Weisel, Forced Unfolding of Coiled-coils in Fibrinogen by Single Molecule
AFM. (2007)
Biophysical Journal - Letters.
92:L39-L41.
[Abstract]
[PubMed
Central] [pdf]
Press: [Eurekalert]
Research Experience
Postdoctoral Fellow, MRC Lab of Molecular Biology,
Cambridge (08/2009 - present)
Supervisor: Dr. William Schafer
Projects: Rapid behavioural phenotyping in the nematode worm C. elegans.
NSERC Postgraduate Scholar, UPenn (07/2004 - 08/2009)
Supervisor: Dr. Dennis Discher
Projects: Combined total internal reflection fluorescence and atomic force microscopy (TIRF/AFM) in collaboration with Dr. Yale Goldman (Pennsylvania Muscle Institute, UPenn). Single molecule AFM in collaboration with Dr. John Weisel (Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, UPenn). Cell mechanics and intracellular transport in collaboration with Dr. Igor Kulic (Department of engineering and applied science, Harvard).
Research Assistant, Memorial University (08/2003-04/2004)
Supervisor: Dr. Erika Merschrod
Project: Design and build a dynamic light scattering system with a software based correlator.
NSERC research student, Mcgill University (05/2003-08/2003)
Supervisor: Dr. Peter Gruetter
Project: Design and build a coarse positioning module for an atomic force microscope with capacitive sensors allowing sample positioning over a range of millimetres with sub-micron reproducibility.
NSERC research student, Memorial University (05/2001-04/2003)
Supervisor: Dr. Mike Morrow
Project: Prepare lipid and lipid-peptide samples for study using high-pressure deuterium NMR. Study the dependence of lipid hydrocarbon chain order on pressure in binary lipid mixtures.
Publications
[13] A.E.X. Brown, W.R. Schafer, Unrestrained worms bridled by the light.
Nature Methods 8:129-30 (2011)
[Abstract]
[pdf]
*News and Views
[12] P.K. Purohit, R.I. Litvinov, A.E.X. Brown, D.E. Discher, J.W. Weisel, Protein unfolding accounts for the unusual mechanical behavior of fibrin networks.
Acta Biomaterialia 7:2374-2383 (2011)
[Abstract]
[pdf]
[11] A. Zemel*, F. Rehfeldt*, A.E.X. Brown, D.E.
Discher, S.A. Safran, Optimal matrix rigidity for stress-fiber polarization in stem cells.
Nature Physics 6:468-473 (2010)
[Abstract]
[pdf]
News and Views by Erich Sackmann
*contributed equally
[10] K. Rajagopal, A. Mahmud, D.A. Christian, J.D. Pajerowski, A.E.X. Brown, S.M. Loverde, D.E. Discher, Curvature-Coupled Hydration of Semicrystalline Polymer Amphiphiles Yields flexible Worm Micelles but Favors Rigid Vesicles: Polycaprolactone-Based Block Copolymers.
Macromolecules 43:9736–9746 (2010)
[Abstract]
[pdf]
[9] C.C. Krieger, N. Bhasin, M. Tewari, A.E.X. Brown, D. Safer, H.L. Sweeney, D.E. Discher, Exon-skipped dystrophins for treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy: Mass spectrometry mapping of most exons and cooperative domain designs based on single molecule mechanics.
Cytoskeleton 67:796-807 (2010)
[Abstract]
[pdf]
[8] A. Buxboim, K. Rajagopal, A.E.X. Brown, D.E.
Discher, How deeply cells feel: methods for thin gels.
Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 22:194116 (2010)
[Abstract]
[pdf]
*Special issue on cell-substrate interactions
[7] A. Zemel, F. Rehfeldt, A.E.X. Brown, D.E.
Discher, S.A. Safran, Cell shape, spreading symmetry and the polarization of stress-fibers in cells.
Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 22:194110 (2010)
[Abstract]
[pdf]
*Special issue on cell-substrate interactions
[6] A.E.X. Brown and D.E. Discher. Conformational Changes
in Cell and
Matrix Physics.
Current Biology 19:R781-R789
(2009)
[Abstract] [pdf]
[5] A.E.X. Brown, R.I. Litvinov, D.E. Discher, P.K.
Purohit, J.W. Weisel.
Multiscale Mechanics of Fibrin Polymer: Gel Stretching with Protein
Unfolding and Loss of Water.
Science
325:741-744 (2009)
[Abstract] [pdf]
Press: [Eurekalert]
[NPR]
[4] A.E.X. Brown*, A. Hategan*, D. Safer, Y.E. Goldman,
D.E.
Discher, Cross-correlated TIRF/AFM reveals Asymmetry in Self-assembled
Synthetic Myosin Filaments. (2009)
Biophysical Journal
96:1952-1960.
[arXiv]
[Abstract]
[pdf]
*contributed equally
[3] I.M. Kulic, A.E.X. Brown, H. Kim, C. Kural, B. Blehm,
P.R. Selvin, P.C. Nelson, V.I. Gelfand, The Role of Microtubule Movement
in Bidirectional Organelle Transport. (2008)
Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci.
105:10011-10016
[Abstract]
[arXiv] [pdf]
[2] A.E.X. Brown, R.I. Litvinov, D.E. Discher, J.W.
Weisel, Forced Unfolding of Coiled-coils in Fibrinogen by Single Molecule
AFM. (2007)
Biophysical Journal - Letters.
92:L39-L41.
[Abstract]
[PubMed
Central] [pdf]
Press: [Eurekalert]
[1] A. Brown, I. Skanes, M.R. Morrow, Pressure Induced
Ordering in mixed-lipid bilayers. (2004)
Physical Review E. 69:011913.
[Abstract]
[pdf]
Presentations
A.E.X. Brown, Multiscale mechanics of blood clots. Institut Charles Sadron. 2010, Strasbourg. (talk)
A.E.X. Brown, Of Fibers and Worms. Technical University of Munich Biophysics Winter School. 2010, Antholz, Sudtirol. (talk)
A.E.X. Brown, F. Rehfeldt, A. Zajac, D.E. Discher.
Stem Cell Biophysics: Pre-differentiation Dynamics of Stress Fiber Polarization on Elastic Matrices. Biophysical Society Meeting. 2009, Boston. (talk)
A.E.X. Brown, A. Hategan, D. Safer, Y.E. Goldman, D.E. Discher.
Cross-correlated TIRF/AFM reveals asymmetry in self-assembled Myosin filaments - a Dyck paths model of asymmetry and implications for Motility. American Physical Society March Meeting. 2009, Pittsburgh. (talk)
A.E.X. Brown, R.I. Litvinov, C. Nagaswami, D.E. Discher,
J.W. Weisel.
Multiscale Mechanics of Fibrin(ogen). XXth International Fibrinogen
Workshop. 2008, Venice. (talk)
A.E.X. Brown, F. Rehfeldt, A. Popescu, H. Shuman, D.E.
Discher. Myosin-II Filament Asymmetry and Orientation in vitro
and in vivo. Biophysical Society Annual Meeting. 2008,
Long Beach. (poster)
A.E.X. Brown, R.I. Litvinov, D.E. Discher, J.W. Weisel.
Forced Unfolding of Coiled-coils in Fibrinogen by Single Molecule AFM.
Biophysical Society Annual Meeting. 2007, Baltimore. (poster)
A.E.X. Brown, R.I. Litvinov, D.E. Discher, J.W. Weisel.
Forced Unfolding of Coiled-coils in Fibrinogen by Single Molecule AFM.
American Physical Society, March Meeting. 2007, Denver. (talk)
A.E.X. Brown, R.I. Litvinov, D.E. Discher, J.W. Weisel.
Forced Unfolding of Coiled-coils in Fibrinogen by Single Molecule AFM.
34th Annual Workshop on Hemostasis, Thrombosis and
Atherosclerosis. 2006, Jefferson University, Philadelphia. (talk)
N. Bhasin, F. Nakamura, C. Johnson, S. Sen, A.E.X. Brown, T. Stossel, and D. E. Discher. Forced Unfolding
of EGFP-Filamin with AFM is Concentration Dependent. Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, 2006, Salt Lake City (poster)
N. Bhasin, A.E.X. Brown, D.E. Discher. Forced Unfolding of Filamin by AFM is concentration dependent.
BioImage 2005, ENS, Paris (poster)
Service and Outreach
Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition - Improving the Magnifying Glass: a New Giant Lens (2010)
Director's Advisory Committee, Nano/Bio Interface Center, Penn (2009)
Organizer, NSF-MRSEC Soft Matter seminar series, Penn (2005-2009)
Founder/Co-Author of Biocurious, a scientific weblog (2005)
Science fair judge, Newfoundland and Labrador regional science fair (2002-2003) and Nano Day at Penn Science Fair (2006).
Disclaimer: These pages are my personal pages. The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology or the Medical Research Council.