Prof. Dr. David Brückner
Professor
Prof. Dr. David Brückner
Short biography
David Brückner received his Bachelor and Master of Science in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge. In 2021, he received his PhD in Physics from the Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, for which he was awarded the Dissertation Award of the Munich University Association. He then worked as an EMBO and NOMIS Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria. In 2022, he was awarded with the Gustav-Hertz-Prize of the German Physical Society for his work on the stochastic dynamics of migrating cells. Since 2025, he is Assistant Professor of Theoretical Biophysics at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel, and co-affiliated with the Department of Physics.
Research Summary
Our group studies the physics of living systems. We develop theoretical approaches to uncover how interactions of cells and molecules control the behaviour of multicellular systems. We use combinations of statistical physics, soft matter physics, and information theory to address the fundamental question of how the collective dynamics of interacting cells controls multicellular dynamics, such as the development of a single cell into an embyo. Using inference and machine learning approaches, we connect our theoretical models to quantitative datasets in collaboration with experimental laboratories worldwide. Despite the diversity of shapes and patterns in developmental systems, our theoretical approaches aim to uncover recurring physical principles applicable across organisms, developmental stages, and length scales. These principles enhance our understanding of developmental mechanism robustness, explain developmental defects when these mechanisms fail, and provide design principles for artificial developmental systems like organoids.