Living Matter

We are hiring!

Apply to join us as a PhD researcher or postdoc by submitting your full application through this link (deadline 15.5.2024):

• Postdoc: https://www.aalto.fi/en/open-positions/postdoctoral-researcher-for-experiments-in-swarming-dynamics-of-living-swimmers 
• PhD researcher: https://www.aalto.fi/en/open-positions/doctoral-researcher-for-experiments-in-swarming-dynamics-of-living-swimmers 

Current Focus

• Swimming dynamics of micro- to mesoscale organisms
• Biomechanics of living materials, such as tiny plant roots and immune cells
• Wetting and capillary phenomena

Group Leader: Prof. Matilda Backholm

Click these links for my contact details and full researcher profile. My public CV is attached below.

Short bio

• Tenure-track Assistant Professor (2022–), Dept. of Applied Physics, Aalto University.
• Postdoc(2015–2017) and Academy of Finland postdoc (2017–2022), Aalto University.
• PhD in Physics, McMaster University, Canada (2015).
• MSc in Nanoscience, Aarhus University, Denmark (2011).
• BSc in Physics, University of Helsinki, Finland (2009).

Grants and awards (selection)

• ERC StG (2023), Research Council of Finland Research Fellowship (2023), grant from the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation (2023), the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters Väisälä Starting Grant (2023), Academy of Finland Postdoctoral Researcher (2017).
• Hannu Koskinen’s best presentation award at the Finnish Physics Days (2019), the Ruth and Nils-Erik Stenbäck Prize for career accomplishments in science (2017), the McMaster University School of Graduate Studies International Excellence Award (2012 and 2014).

Identifiers: ORCID, WoS, Google scholar

Social media: Twitter, LinkedIn

Research Highlights

• Toward vanishing droplet friction on repellent surfaces
  M. Backholm*, T. Kärki, H. Nurmi, M. Vuckovac, V. Turkki, S. Lepikko, V. Jokinen, D. Quéré, J. V. I. Timonen, and R. H. A. Ras*
  Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (PNAS) 121, e2315214121 (2024).
• Droplet slipperiness despite surface heterogeneity at molecular scale
  S. Lepikko, Y. Morais Jaques, M. Junaid, M. Backholm, J. Lahtinen, J. Julin, V. Jokinen, T. Sajavaara, M. Sammalkorpi, A. S. Foster, and R. H. A. Ras
  Nature Chemistry 16, 506-513 (2024).
• Long-term stability of aerophilic metallic surfaces underwater
  A. B. Tesler, S. Kolle, L. H. Prado, I. Thievessen, D. Böhringer, M. Backholm, B. Karunakaran, H. A. Nurmi, M. Latikka, L. Fischer, S. Stafslien, Z. M. Cenev, J. V. I. Timonen, M. Bruns, A. Mazare, U. Lohbauer, S. Virtanen, B. Fabry, P. Schmuki, R. H. A. Ras, J. Aizenberg, and W. H. Goldmann 
  Nature Materials 22, 1548–1555 (2023).
• Water droplet friction and rolling dynamics on superhydrophobic surfaces
  M. Backholm*, D. Molpeceres, M. Vuckovac, H. Nurmi, M. Hokkanen, V. Jokinen, J.V.I. Timonen, and R.H.A. Ras*
  Communications Materials 1, 64(2020).
• Viscosity-enhanced droplet motion in sealed superhydrophobic capillaries
  M. Vuckovac, M. Backholm, J.V.I. Timonen, and R.H.A. Ras
  Science Advances 6, eaba5197 (2020).
  [Highlighted by 12 news outlets, such as Physics Today and Physics World.]
• Micropipette force sensors for in vivo force measurements on single cells and multicellular microorganisms
  M. Backholm*, and O. Bäumchen*
  Nature Protocols 14, 594–615 (2019).
  [Highlighted by 10 news outlets, including Science Daily, Phys.org, EurekAlert, ScienMag, TodayChan, and Göttinger Tageblatt]
• Tangling of tethered swimmers: Interactions between two nematodes
  M. Backholm, R. D. Schulman, W. S. Ryu, and K. Dalnoki-Veress
  Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 138101 (2014).
  [Editor's Suggestion, Highlighted by PRL Editorial]
• Viscoelastic properties of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, a self-similar, shear-thinning worm
  M. Backholm, W. S. Ryu, and K. Dalnoki-Veress
  Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (PNAS) 110, 4528-4533 (2013).