Wei FENG

Wei FENG

Researcher of Biochemistry

Northwest University

As a PhD student and research assistant in the School of Physics at the SMPL laboratory, my research focuses on elucidating the versatile swimming patterns of Escherichia coli driven by its flagellar bundle, aiming to uncover the micro-gaits influenced by flagellar morphology and environmental conditions. By developing a comprehensive framework to study variations in flagellar shape, number, and inter-flagellum spacing, this project employs an advanced 3D tracking system with three-degree-of-freedom orientation analysis to capture detailed swimming dynamics of the bacterial body rod. The study investigates how these micro-gaits adapt across diverse fluid environments, boundary conditions, and bacterial phenotypes during growth and division. This work seeks to reveal the biomechanical principles governing E. coli motility, offering novel insights into bacterial navigation, adaptation, and infection mechanisms, with potential applications in microbial control, synthetic biology, and the design of bioinspired micro-robots.

Swimming Gaits

Interests
  • Swimming patterns of growing bacteria
  • Bacterial dividing with the help of swimming
Education
  • Master in Chemistry, 2019

    Southwest University

  • Ms in Chemistry, 2016

    Northwest University