Jane Chui

Dr Jane Chui

BASc SM PhD

  • Position Governing Body Fellows Junior Research Fellows
  • School Physical Sciences Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics
  • Email jane.chui@damtp.cam.ac.uk
  • Department link DAMTP

Jane is an experimentalist looking to unravel the mysteries of the living world using an interdisciplinary approach, blending biology, physics, and engineering. Her current research interests are centred on the biomechanics of motility at the microscale, specifically ciliated tissues.

Jane Chui

Jane received her Bachelor of Applied Sciences in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto, majoring in Energy and the Environment. She continued her academic journey at MIT, where she completed both her master’s and doctoral degrees in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She studied the effects of hydrodynamic instabilities on mixing, and expanded her work to include a dimension to her experiments that is ubiquitous to any environment: bacteria. Continuing her newfound fascination with the interplay between fluid dynamics and living things, and especially the collective behaviour of microorganisms, she is now a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge as well as a Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College. 

Her current research focuses on the biomechanics of motility at the microscale, specifically in understanding the mechanisms involved in the synchronisation (or lack thereof) of cilia. Cilia are hair-like structures found across a large range of organisms, and their collective beating enables important functions, such as algae travelling through the earth’s oceans or mucus clearing via fluid flow generation in the human lung. 

An experimentalist at heart, Jane has an affinity for cameras and imaging of all types, from high-speed capture of cilia beating in synchrony, to action shots of a heron taking off into the sunset. She also strongly believes in building a strong science community from the ground up, and so actively participates in mentoring across all academic levels (high school, undergraduate, and graduate), and regularly supervises student research projects. She is also on the organising committee for the Fluid Mechanics Seminar Series, conducted in partnership with the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge, the UK Fluids Network (Leeds Institute for Fluid Dynamics) and the Journal of Fluid Mechanics. 

What's on

Footprints at Ain Dara

Reading Ancient Temples through the Lens of Disability Studies and Mobility Design

06/06/2023 at 17.30

How can the archaeology of temples account for people with disabilities?

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Inger Mewburn

Kicking the can down the road: How to create research impact in seven (not so easy) steps

06/06/2023 at 17.30

We hear terms like ‘research impact’ and ‘engagement’ all the time, but what does ‘impact’ and ‘engagement’ actually look like in practice?

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selection of books written by Professor Inger Mewburn

Productivity workshops for researchers with Prof. Inger Mewburn aka The Thesis Whisperer

10/06/2023 at 10.00

Join Professor Inger Mewburn, also known online as the Thesis Whisperer, for one or both workshops to help increase your productivity: Getting sh!t done and Building a second brain (for writing)

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'You' by Gavin Fry

Art Exhibition: 'Things Put Differently'

10/06/2023 at 10.00

Visit Wolfson's latest exhibition 'Things Put Differently' featuring Gavin Fry and works by Anthony Green and Mary Cozens-Walker.

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Photo of artist Gurpran Rau holding a piece of her artwork

Art Exhibition: 'Patterns of Renewal'

10/06/2023 at 10.00

We're delighted to be the first to display Gurpran Rau's latest exhibition 'Patterns of Renewal', featuring a series of paintings created during lockdown inspired by her walks in the woods of Cambridgeshire.

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