# Engineering Living Matter
**Source**: https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/research/vision-research-avenues/ra6-engineering-living-matter
**Parent**: https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/
Research Avenue 6
- [Research Avenue 1RA1](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/research/vision-research-avenues/ra1-collective-transitions-in-multicellular-systems "Collective Transitions in Multicellular Systems")
- [Research Avenue 2RA2](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/research/vision-research-avenues/ra2-emergent-cellular-phases "Emergent Cellular Phases")
- [Research Avenue 3RA3](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/research/vision-research-avenues/ra3-self-organizing-active-molecular-systems "Self-Organizing Active Molecular Systems")
- [Research Avenue 4RA4](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/research/vision-research-avenues/ra4-energy-and-information-flows-in-active-matter "Energy and Information Flows in Active Matter")
- [Research Avenue 5RA5](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/research/vision-research-avenues/ra5-physical-measurements-in-intact-living-systems "Physical Measurements in Intact Living Systems")
- [Research Avenue 7RA7](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/research/vision-research-avenues/ra7-bio-data-science-and-physics-inspired-ai "Bio-Data Science and Physics-Informed AI")
# Engineering Living Matter
To identify the physical principles underlying the living state of matter, the study of intact living systems can be complemented by an engineering approach, where fundamental biological modules are reconstituted and controlled *in vitro.* This approach removes constraints, providing *in vitro* systems that can be readily manipulated to explore a full range of dynamical states and emergent properties.
**Our aim** is to build synthetic or reconstituted systems that reproduce functional modules of living systems at molecular, cellular, and tissue scales, to reveal the physical principles of life. A particular focus is to reconstitute and study biological tempo, mechanical control, and information flow. This approach will reveal the limits of our current understanding and help identify principles of self-organization in living matter. In order to explore a full range of dynamical states and responses to perturbations, we will develop novel technologies and apply them, enabling precise spatiotemporal control of living systems.
Research Topic 1
Engineering Biological Tempo
Research Topic 2
Engineering Mechanical Control
Research Topic 3
Engineering Information Flow
## News
13 March 2026\
**[Physics of Life at the DPG Spring Meeting 2026!](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/news/2026/03/13/physics-of-life-at-the-dpg-spring-meeting-2026)**
4 February 2026\
**[New insights into the mechanisms of organ growth and repair](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/news/2026/02/04/new-insights-into-the-mechanisms-of-organ-growth-and-repair)**
28 January 2026\
**[New perspectives on how physical instabilities drive embryonic development](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/news/2026/01/28/new-perspectives-on-how-physical-instabilities-drive-embryonic-development)**
22 January 2026\
**[Making human pancreatic acinar cells](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/news/2026/01/22/making-human-pancreatic-acinar-cells)**
12 January 2026\
**[A Signature of Life: Time Irreversibility and Amplified Fluctuations in Living Matter](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/news/2026/01/12/a-signature-of-life-time-irreversibility-and-amplified-fluctuations-in-living-matter)**
[all Research Avenue 6 news](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/news)
## RA Leading Team
### Miki Ebisuya (RA Leader)
Humboldt Professor and Chair of Cell and Tissue Control
Cross-Species Comparison and Manipulation of the Organoid Zoo
hired by PoL
[›› visit the website of Miki Ebisuya<br>(RA Leader)](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/team/pol-groups/ebisuya "›› visit the website of Miki Ebisuya<br>(RA Leader)")
### Alf O. Honigmann (RA Co-Leader)
TUD BIOTEC
| Professor for Biophysics
Membrane Organization of Cells and Tissues
[›› open the website of Alf O. Honigmann<br>(RA Co-Leader) in a new tab](https://tu-dresden.de/cmcb/biotec/forschungsgruppen/honigmann "›› open the website of Alf O. Honigmann<br>(RA Co-Leader) in a new tab")
### Stefan Diez
TUD B CUBE
| Professor for BioNano Tools
Molecular transport in cell biology and nanotechnology
[›› open the website of Stefan Diez in a new tab](https://tu-dresden.de/cmcb/bcube/forschungsgruppen/diez?set_language=en "›› open the website of Stefan Diez in a new tab")
© TUD CMCB, Magdalena Gonciarz
### Meritxell Huch
MPI-CBG
| Director of MPI-CBG, Lise Meitner Max Planck Research Group Leader
Organoids, tissue regeneration and its deregulation in disease
[›› open the website of Meritxell Huch in a new tab](https://www.mpi-cbg.de/research/researchgroups/currentgroups/meritxell-huch/ "›› open the website of Meritxell Huch in a new tab")
© MPI-CBG
## PoL Groups
### Jan Brugués
Chair of Spatiotemporal Organization of Subcellular Structures
Spatiotemporal Organization of Subcellular Structures
hired by PoL
[›› visit the website of Jan Brugués](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/team/pol-groups/brugues "›› visit the website of Jan Brugués")
### Otger Campàs
Chair of Tissue Dynamics
Physics of Embryonic Self-Organization and Morphogenesis
hired by PoL
[›› visit the website of Otger Campàs](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/team/pol-groups/campas "›› visit the website of Otger Campàs")
### Stefan Diez
TUD B CUBE
| Professor for BioNano Tools
Molecular transport in cell biology and nanotechnology
[›› open the website of Stefan Diez in a new tab](https://tu-dresden.de/cmcb/bcube/forschungsgruppen/diez?set_language=en "›› open the website of Stefan Diez in a new tab")
© TUD CMCB, Magdalena Gonciarz
### Adele Doyle
Research Group Leader
Mechanobiology of Stem Cells
hired by PoL
[›› visit the website of Adele Doyle](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/team/pol-groups/doyle "›› visit the website of Adele Doyle")
### Miki Ebisuya
Humboldt Professor and Chair of Cell and Tissue Control
Cross-Species Comparison and Manipulation of the Organoid Zoo
hired by PoL
[›› visit the website of Miki Ebisuya](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/team/pol-groups/ebisuya "›› visit the website of Miki Ebisuya")
### Benjamin Friedrich
Heisenberg Professor for Biological Algorithms
Biological Algorithms: Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Cells and Tissues
hired by PoL
[›› visit the website of Benjamin Friedrich](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/team/pol-groups/friedrich "›› visit the website of Benjamin Friedrich")
### Anne Grapin-Botton
MPI-CBG
| Director of MPI-CBG
Self-organization of cells into organ communities
[›› open the website of Anne Grapin-Botton in a new tab](https://www.mpi-cbg.de/research/researchgroups/currentgroups/anne-grapin-botton/ "›› open the website of Anne Grapin-Botton in a new tab")
© MPI-CBG
### Stephan W. Grill
MPI-CBG
| Director of MPI-CBG, Professor for Physics of Life
Physics of Life
[›› open the website of Stephan W. Grill in a new tab](https://www.mpi-cbg.de/research/researchgroups/currentgroups/stephan-grill/ "›› open the website of Stephan W. Grill in a new tab")
© MPI-CBG
### Alf O. Honigmann
TUD BIOTEC
| Professor for Biophysics
Membrane Organization of Cells and Tissues
[›› open the website of Alf O. Honigmann in a new tab](https://tu-dresden.de/cmcb/biotec/forschungsgruppen/honigmann "›› open the website of Alf O. Honigmann in a new tab")
### Meritxell Huch
MPI-CBG
| Director of MPI-CBG, Lise Meitner Max Planck Research Group Leader
Organoids, tissue regeneration and its deregulation in disease
[›› open the website of Meritxell Huch in a new tab](https://www.mpi-cbg.de/research/researchgroups/currentgroups/meritxell-huch/ "›› open the website of Meritxell Huch in a new tab")
© MPI-CBG
### Anthony A. Hyman
MPI-CBG
| Director of MPI-CBG, Professor for Molecular Cell Biology
Organization of Cytoplasm
[›› open the website of Anthony A. Hyman in a new tab](https://www.mpi-cbg.de/research/researchgroups/currentgroups/anthony-hyman/ "›› open the website of Anthony A. Hyman in a new tab")
© Sven Döring
### Frank Jülicher
MPI-PKS
| Director of MPI-PKS, Professor for Biophysics
Dynamic processes in cells and tissues
[›› open the website of Frank Jülicher in a new tab](https://www.pks.mpg.de/biological-physics/frank-juelicher/ "›› open the website of Frank Jülicher in a new tab")
© MPI-CBG
### Ivo F. Sbalzarini
TUD, CSBD
| Professor for Scientific Computing for Systems Biology
The MOSAIC Group: Scientific Computing for Image-based Systems Biology
[›› open the website of Ivo F. Sbalzarini in a new tab](http://mosaic.mpi-cbg.de "›› open the website of Ivo F. Sbalzarini in a new tab")
© MPI-CBG
### Carsten Werner
IPF
| Professor for Biofunctional Polymer Materials
Biofunctional polymer materials
[›› open the website of Carsten Werner in a new tab](https://www.ipfdd.de/en/organization/departments/institute-of-biofunctional-polymer-materials/team/prof-dr-carsten-werner/?no_cache=1 "›› open the website of Carsten Werner in a new tab")
## PoL Associates
### André Nadler
MPI-CBG
| Research Group Leader
Membrane Chemical Biology
[›› open the website of André Nadler in a new tab](http://mpi-cbg.de/research/researchgroups/currentgroups/andre-nadler/research-focus "›› open the website of André Nadler in a new tab")
### Michael Schlierf
TUD B CUBE
| Professor for Molecular Biophysics
Conformational changes in biomolecules and enzymes
[›› open the website of Michael Schlierf in a new tab](https://tu-dresden.de/cmcb/bcube/forschungsgruppen/schlierf?set_language=en "›› open the website of Michael Schlierf in a new tab")
© TUD CMCB, Magdalena Gonciarz
### Benjamin Schumann
TUD
| Professor of Biochemistry
Chemical Glycobiology
[›› open the website of Benjamin Schumann in a new tab](https://tu-dresden.de/mn/chemie/bc/bc1 "›› open the website of Benjamin Schumann in a new tab")
### Anna Taubenberger
TUD BIOTEC, IPF
| Research Group Leader
Oncomechanics
[›› open the website of Anna Taubenberger in a new tab](https://tu-dresden.de/cmcb/biotec/forschungsgruppen/taubenberger "›› open the website of Anna Taubenberger in a new tab")
© Magdalena Gonciarz
### Pavel Tomancak
MPI-CBG
| Research Group Leader
Patterns of gene expression in animal development
[›› open the website of Pavel Tomancak in a new tab](https://www.mpi-cbg.de/research/researchgroups/currentgroups/pavel-tomancak/ "›› open the website of Pavel Tomancak in a new tab")
© MPI-CBG
### Jesse Veenvliet
MPI-CBG
| Research Group Leader
Stembryogenesis
[›› open the website of Jesse Veenvliet in a new tab](https://www.mpi-cbg.de/research/researchgroups/currentgroups/jesse-veenvliet/ "›› open the website of Jesse Veenvliet in a new tab")
© MPI-CBG
- [Research Avenue 1RA1](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/research/vision-research-avenues/ra1-collective-transitions-in-multicellular-systems "Collective Transitions in Multicellular Systems")
- [Research Avenue 2RA2](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/research/vision-research-avenues/ra2-emergent-cellular-phases "Emergent Cellular Phases")
- [Research Avenue 3RA3](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/research/vision-research-avenues/ra3-self-organizing-active-molecular-systems "Self-Organizing Active Molecular Systems")
- [Research Avenue 4RA4](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/research/vision-research-avenues/ra4-energy-and-information-flows-in-active-matter "Energy and Information Flows in Active Matter")
- [Research Avenue 5RA5](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/research/vision-research-avenues/ra5-physical-measurements-in-intact-living-systems "Physical Measurements in Intact Living Systems")
- [Research Avenue 7RA7](https://physics-of-life.tu-dresden.de/research/vision-research-avenues/ra7-bio-data-science-and-physics-inspired-ai "Bio-Data Science and Physics-Informed AI")