Portrait of Nuris Figueroa Morales
Assistant Professor
Physics

AV名湿 Interests

In our lab, we study听the complex interactions between microorganisms and their environment. Using tools of microfluidics, quantitative video microscopy and image analysis we investigate the听transport of microorganisms: from natural and complex environments, like viscoelastic and anisotropic body fluids; to the effect of the topology of the confining structures, like medical catheters or porous media; to untapping the potential of new 鈥渁ctive鈥 systems propelled by swimming microorganisms. Our multidisciplinary lab aims at preventing microorganism-borne medical conditions, developing novel live materials, and utilizing microorganisms for cleaning the environment.

Education

  • 2017 鈥 PhD, Sorbonne University, France - Physics
  • 2013听鈥 MS, University of Havana, Cuba - Physics
  • 2010 鈥 BS, University of Havana, Cuba - Physics

Awards and Honors

  • 2023 Boettcher Webb-Waring Biomedical AV名湿 Award for Early Career Investigators. Colorado,听USA
  • 2014 Best Poster Prize at the 鈥565th WE-Heraeus-Seminar on Statistical Physics of Self-Propelled Particles: Theory and Experiments.鈥澨鼴ad Honnef,听Germany.听
  • 2013 Full PhD scholarship from the 鈥淧ierre-Gilles de Gennes Foundation for AV名湿,鈥澨齈aris,听France.听
  • 2010 Summa Cum Laude, awarded for the academic record 5.15 out of 5. Selected 鈥淏est Student AV名湿er鈥 of the Physics Department 2010 promotion. University of Havana, Cuba.听
  • 2005 Gold Medal at the X Iberoamerican Physics Olympiad. Competition held in Uruguay, 2005 (22 Countries).听Gold Medal at the National Physics Olympiad, Cuba.听

Selected publications

  1. N. Figueroa-Morales, R. Soto, G. Junot, T. Darnige, C. Douarche, V. Martinez, A. Lindner, and E. Cl茅ment, 鈥3D spatial exploration by E. coli echoes motor temporal variability,鈥 Phys. Rev. X, vol 10, no. 2, p. 021004, 2020.
  2. N. Figueroa-Morales, A. Rivera, R. Soto, A. Lindner, E. Altshuler, and E. Cl茅ment, 鈥淓. coli "super-contaminates" narrow ducts fostered by broad run-time distribution,鈥 Science Advances, vol. 6, no. 11, eaay0155, 2020.
  3. N. Figueroa-Morales, L. Dominguez-Rubio, T. L. Ott, and I. S. Aranson, 鈥淢echanical shear controls bacterial penetration in mucus,鈥 Scientific reports, vol. 9, no. 1, p. 9713, 2019.
  4. A. J. Mathijssen, N. Figueroa-Morales, G. Junot, 脡. Cl茅ment, A. Lindner, and A. Z枚ttl, 鈥淥scillatory surface rheotaxis of swimming E. coli bacteria,鈥 Nature communications, vol. 10, no. 1, p. 3434, 2019.
  5. N. Figueroa-Morales, G. L. Mino, A. Rivera, R. Caballero, E. Cl茅ment, E. Altshuler, and A. Lindner, 鈥淟iving on the edge: transfer and traffic of E. coli in a confined flow,鈥 Soft matter, vol. 11, no. 31, pp. 6284鈥6293, 2015.