Lara Koehler

I am a theoretical and numerical physicist working at the interface between soft matter physics and biology, with a focus on collective phenomena and self-organization in active systems driven by internal biochemical cycles, growth, and division rather than persistent self-propulsion. My research aims to identify the minimal physical mechanisms that underlie complex biological dynamics, using tools from statistical physics, dynamical systems, and active matter. A central theme of my work is to understand how local interactions and constraints give rise to robust, large-scale organization in systems composed of many interacting units.