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Cellular Systems Dynamics Lab

Rice University · Department of Bioengineering

Cellular Systems Dynamics Lab

Oleg Igoshin Research Group

We combine nonlinear dynamics, biophysics, and data science to understand how biochemical networks make decisions and how cells self-organize into multicellular communities. We work closely with experimental labs, so every model we build is tested against data.

Explore our research Join the lab
Myxococcus xanthus self-organization Speed–accuracy–dissipation trade-offs in biochemical networks Phage lambda cell-fate decision Bacterial stress-response network architectures
What we study

Research areas

From single enzymes to bacterial communities, we look for the design principles behind how living systems sense, decide, and self-organize.

All research
Myxococcus xanthus aggregation
Biofilms · Biophysics · ML

Microbial self-organization

How starving Myxococcus xanthus cells aggregate into fruiting bodies, and how collective behavior emerges from genetic networks.
Stress-response network designs
Network design · Evolution

Bacterial stress response

Design principles of sigma-factor and two-component networks, from Bacillus subtilis to Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Bacillus subtilis differentiation
Cell fate · Dynamics

Cellular differentiation

How B. subtilis chooses between sporulation and biofilm formation, and how master-regulator dynamics encode that choice.
Kinetic proofreading networks
Statistical physics · Kinetics

Information-processing trade-offs

Speed, accuracy, and energy dissipation in replication, transcription, translation, and CRISPR-Cas9.
Phage lambda infection decision
Stochasticity · Virology

Viral cell-fate decisions

How cells infected by phage lambda “count” viral copies to choose between lysis and lysogeny.
Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic model
Translational modeling

Pharmacokinetics & pharmacodynamics

Predictive models for protein therapeutics: immunotherapy, molecular glues, and GLP-1 receptor agonists.
Members of the Igoshin Lab, 2024
Our team

Physicists, engineers, and biologists

Our group brings together people trained in physics, mathematics, chemistry, engineering, and biology. Lab alumni now lead research groups and work in industry around the world.

110+publications
25+alumni
6research areas
Meet the lab
Latest work

Recent publications

All publications
  1. Once yearly cell-based therapy for sustained and dose-tunable delivery of monoclonal antibodies
    Fell C, Davis AE, Pandey S, Guinn MT, Wang Z, DeBonis J, …, Igoshin O, …, Veiseh O
    Science Advances (2026)
  2. Quantum field theory approach for multistage chemical kinetics in liquids
    Li RV, Igoshin OA, Krissinel EB, Frantsuzov PA
    Physical Review E (2026)
  3. First-In-Human Trial of Encapsulated Cells Constitutively Expressing Localized IL2 in Patients with High-Grade Serous Ovarian Carcinoma
    Clark HD, Aghlara-Fotovat S, Schladenhauffen J, DeBonis J, Amador-Molina JC, Nash A, …, Igoshin OA, …, Westin SN
    Clinical Cancer Research (2026)
  4. Unraveling discrimination strategies in biological error-correction networks
    Banerjee K, Kolomeisky AB, Igoshin OA
    The Journal of Chemical Physics (2026)
  5. Biophysical Modeling Elucidates Mechanistic Principles for Rational Molecular Glue Design
    Chae SJ, DeBonis J, Quinlan J, Richards R, Wang J, Gutierrez G, …, Igoshin OA
    Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling (2026)
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