Bittihn, Philip Dr.*

Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization

2009 Diploma in physics, Göttingen University
2009-2013 Doctoral work, MPI for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS), stipend awarded by the IMPRS for the Physics of Biological and Complex Systems (2009-2012)
2013 PhD (Dr. rer. nat.) in physics, Göttingen University
2014-2019 Postdoctoral Fellow, BioCircuits Institute, University of California San Diego, Cross-Disciplinary Fellowship awarded by the Human Frontiers Science Program (2014-2018)
2019-2021 Gauss Fellow, Department of Living Matter Physics, MPI-DS
Since 2021 Group leader of the Group “Emergent Dynamics in Living Systems”, Department of Living Matter Physics, MPI-DS

Major Research Interests

Multicellular living systems from bacterial colonies to mammalian tissues display fascinating self-organization phenomena and collective behaviors which are indispensable for their biological function. We use theoretical approaches and high-performance computing to investigate how such complex dynamics arise from physical interactions such as mechanics and chemical diffusion, while at the same time being coupled to internal cellular dynamics such as cell division, gene regulation and metabolism. A current focus of the group is on viewing cell populations as a specific kind of active matter, with growth as the main driver of activity. The mechanisms leading to emergent dynamics such as orientational ordering, pattern formation or competition often turn out to be universal in whole classes of systems. Our research is driven by the vision that finding these mechanisms does not only lead to a better understanding of multicellular behavior, but also provides strategies for controlling biological systems for biotechnological and medical purposes.

Homepage Department/Research Group

http://www.emergent-dynamics.com

Selected Recent Publications

Isensee J, Hupe L, Golestanian R, Bittihn P (2022) Stress anisotropy in confined populations of growing rods, J. R. Soc. Interface 19, 20220512
Pollack YG, Bittihn P, Golestanian R (2022)A competitive advantage through fast dead matter elimination in confined cellular aggregates, New Journal of Physics 24, 073003
Stevanovic M, Boukéké-Lesplulier T, Hupe L, Hasty J, Bittihn P *, Schultz D*(2022) Nutrient gradients mediate complex colony-level antibiotic responses in structured microbial populations, Frontiers in Microbiology 13
Bittihn P, Golestanian R (2020) Stochastic effects on the dynamics of an epidemic due to population subdivision, Chaos 30, 101102
Bittihn P, Didovyk A, Tsimring LS, Hasty J (2020) Genetically engineered control of phenotypic structure in microbial colonies, Nature Microbiology 5, 697-705
Bittihn P, Hasty J, Tsimring LS (2017) Suppression of beneficial mutations in dynamic microbial populations, Physical Review Letters 118, 028102
Bittihn P, Hörning M, Luther S (2012) Negative curvature boundaries as wave emitting sites for the control of biological excitable media, Physical Review Letters 109, 118106
Luther S*, Fenton FH*, Kornreich BG, Squires A, Bittihn P, Hornung D, Zabel M, Flanders J, Gladuli A, Campoy L, Cherry EM, Luther G, Hasenfuss G, Krinsky VI, Pumir A, Gilmour Jr. RF, Bodenschatz E (2011) Low-energy control of electrical turbulence in the heart, Nature 475, 235-239
Bittihn P, Luther G, Bodenschatz E, Krinsky V, Parlitz U and Luther S (2008) Far field pacing supersedes anti-tachycardia pacing in a generic model of excitable media, New Journal of Physics 10, 103012