Atomic force microscopy image of a chick glial cell. The bright white spot is the nucleus.
Education
Ph.D. (Physics) University of Pennsylvania (expected
2009)
B.Sc. Hons. (Physics) Memorial University (2004)
Research Experience
NSERC Postgraduate Scholar, UPenn (07/2004 - present)
Supervisor: Dr. Dennis Discher
Projects: Combined total internal reflection fluorescence and atomic force microscopy (TIRF/AFM) in collaboration with Dr. Yale Goldman (Pennsylvania Muscle Institute, UPenn). Single molecule AFM in collaboration with Dr. John Weisel (Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, UPenn). Cell mechanics and intracellular transport in collaboration with Dr. Igor Kulic (Department of engineering and applied science, Harvard).
Research Assistant, Memorial University (08/2003-04/2004)
Supervisor: Dr. Erika Merschrod
Project: Design and build a dynamic light scattering system with a software based correlator.
NSERC research student, Mcgill University (05/2003-08/2003)
Supervisor: Dr. Peter Gruetter
Project: Design and build a coarse positioning module for an atomic force microscope with capacitive sensors allowing sample positioning over a range of millimetres with sub-micron reproducibility.
NSERC research student, Memorial University (05/2001-04/2003)
Supervisor: Dr. Mike Morrow
Project: Prepare lipid and lipid-peptide samples for study using high-pressure deuterium NMR. Study the dependence of lipid hydrocarbon chain order on pressure in binary lipid mixtures.
Awards
XXth International Fibrinogen Workshop Travel Award (2008)
Nanoday at Penn, Best Image (2006)
NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship (2004-2008)
Offered NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship only tenable in Canada
3 NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards (2001-2003)
Faculty of Science Dean's List, Memorial University (1999-2003)
Atlantic Accord Scholarship (2001)
Publications
A. Zemel, F. Rehfeldt, A.E.X. Brown, D.E. Discher, S.A. Safran, Matrix Rigidity Optimizes the Polarization of Stem Cells. (2008) Submitted
A.E.X. Brown, A. Hategan, D. Safer, Y.E. Goldman, D.E. Discher, Cross-correlated TIRF/AFM shows Self-assembled Myosin Filaments are Asymmetric - Implications for Motile Filaments. (2008) Submitted
I.M. Kulic, A.E.X. Brown, H. Kim, C. Kural, B. Blehm,
P.R. Selvin, P.C. Nelson, V.I. Gelfand, The Role of Microtubule Movement
in Bidirectional Organelle Transport. (2008)
Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci.
105:10011-10016
[Abstract]
A.E.X. Brown, R.I. Litvinov, D.E. Discher, J.W.
Weisel, Forced Unfolding of Coiled-coils in Fibrinogen by Single Molecule
AFM. (2007)
Biophysical Journal - Letters.
92:L39-L41.
[free
on PubMed Central]
A. Brown, I. Skanes, M.R. Morrow (2004), Pressure Induced Ordering in mixed-lipid bilayers.
Physical Review E. 69:011913.
[Abstract]
Conference Presentations
A.E.X. Brown, F. Rehfeldt, A. Popescu, H. Shuman, D.E.
Discher. Myosin-II Filament Asymmetry and Orientation in vitro
and in vivo. Biophysical Society Annual Meeting. 2008,
Long Beach.
A.E.X. Brown, R.I. Litvinov, D.E. Discher, J.W. Weisel.
Forced Unfolding of Coiled-coils in Fibrinogen by Single Molecule AFM.
Biophysical Society Annual Meeting. 2007, Baltimore.
A.E.X. Brown, R.I. Litvinov, D.E. Discher, J.W. Weisel.
Forced Unfolding of Coiled-coils in Fibrinogen by Single Molecule AFM.
American Physical Society, March Meeting. 2007, Denver.
A.E.X. Brown, R.I. Litvinov, D.E. Discher, J.W. Weisel.
Forced Unfolding of Coiled-coils in Fibrinogen by Single Molecule AFM.
34th Annual Workshop on Hemostasis, Thrombosis and
Atherosclerosis. 2006, Jefferson University, Philadelphia.
N. Bhasin, F. Nakamura, C. Johnson, S. Sen, A.E.X. Brown, T. Stossel, and D. E. Discher. Forced Unfolding
of EGFP-Filamin with AFM is Concentration Dependent. Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, 2006, Salt Lake City
N. Bhasin, A.E.X. Brown, D.E. Discher. Forced Unfolding of Filamin by AFM is concentration dependent.
BioImage 2005, ENS, Paris
Additional Skills
Languages: English and French, both written and spoken. German, spoken.
Operating Systems: Unix, Linux, Windows, Mac.
Programming/Software: Java, LabVIEW, Mathematica, VariCAD, Igor Pro, LATEX.
Basic metal machining
Outreach
Founder/Co-Author of BioCurious, a scientific weblog (2005)
Science fair judge, Newfoundland and Labrador regional science fair (2002-2003) and Nano Day at Penn Science Fair (2006).