Tom Duke has a PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Cambridge and has twenty years of experience in interdisciplinary research, applying physical principles to the study of biological systems. He has held academic appointments at major research universities and institutes, including the University of Cambridge, Princeton University, the Niels Bohr Institute and Institut Curie, and is currently Deputy Director, Life Sciences at the London Centre for Nanotechnology and Professor of Physics at UCL. He has expertise in the design of nanodevices for biomedical diagnostics and in the quantitative modelling and numerical simulation of complex biomolecular systems, especially those involved in cell mechanics, cell motility, and cell signalling.