Regular biography
Michelle Wang is the James Gilbert White Distinguished Professor of the Physical Sciences and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator at Cornell University's Department of Physics. Her research focuses on the molecular mechanics of fundamental biological processes, particularly the motion, dynamics, and mechanics of DNA roadblocks, how DNA motor proteins collide and navigate through roadblocks, and DNA topology during transcription and replication. Her laboratory develops and utilizes state-of-the-art instruments such as optical trapping, magnetic tweezers, and nanophotonics to study these phenomena at the single molecule level. She also combines novel measurements with statistical mechanical models to elucidate the mechanisms of molecular machines.