Pepijn Moerman
Department / Institute
RESEARCH PROFILE
Pepijn Moerman is an assistant-professor in the Self-Organizing Soft Matter Lab, interested in active soft matter and biomimetic systems. His group uses methods from DNA nanotechnology to develop experimental soft matter systems that mimic cell-cell communication, adhesion, and mechanics. They answer fundamental biological questions by systematically varying parameters in these cell mimics and quantifying their effects on the system’s self-organization. With this approach, the team aims to both better understand the way cells interact to form tissues and develop smart materials that can mimic life-like behaviors. Quantitative experimentation and critical comparison to theory play a central role in this approach.
I believe that the most fundamental insights are gained by critically comparing quantitative experiments and theory.
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
Pepijn Moerman did his PhD in Physical Chemistry at Utrecht university. He studied the dynamics of self-propelled droplets and freely jointed colloidal particles in a joint project between Chemistry and Physics department. He did a postdoc in DNA nanotechnology at Johns Hopkins University, where he studied how ATP-dependent enzymes could be used to improve DNA-based reactions. Now, as an assistant-professor at the TU/e he combines his expertise in DNA nanotechnology and soft matter to develop experimental model systems for living matter.
Recent Publications
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Pepijn G. Moerman,Huang Fang,Thomas E. Videbæk,W. Benjamin Rogers,Rebecca Schulman
A simple method to alter the binding specificity of DNA-coated colloids that crystallize
Soft Matter (2023) -
Helena Hall-Thomsen,Shavier Small,Momcilo Gavrilov,Taekjip Ha,Rebecca Schulman,Pepijn Gerben Moerman
Directing Uphill Strand Displacement with an Engineered Superhelicase
ACS Synthetic Biology (2023) -
Ciera M. Wentworth,Alexander C. Castonguay,Pepijn G. Moerman,Caleb H. Meredith,Rebecca V. Balaj,Seong Ik Cheon,Lauren D. Zarzar
Chemically Tuning Attractive and Repulsive Interactions between Solubilizing Oil Droplets
Angewandte Chemie - International Edition (2022) -
Pepijn G. Moerman,Momcilo Gavrilov,Taekjip Ha,Rebecca Schulman
Catalytic DNA Polymerization Can Be Expedited by Active Product Release
Angewandte Chemie - International Edition (2022) -
Ivan Rehor,Charlie Maslen,Pepijn G. Moerman,Renee Van Alst,Jan Groenewold,Huseyin Burak Eral,Willem K. Kegel
Photoresponsive hydrogel microcrawlers exploit friction hysteresis to crawl by reciprocal actuation
Soft Robotics (2021)
Current Educational Activities
Ancillary Activities
No ancillary activities