Clifford P. Brangwynne

About

Clifford P. Brangwynne is a Principal Investigator at Princeton University, focusing on the field of soft living matter. His research involves understanding the physical principles underlying the organization and behavior of biological systems, particularly at the cellular and molecular levels. His work contributes to the broader understanding of biomolecular condensates, phase separation, and the biophysical mechanisms that govern cellular organization. Brangwynne's background includes extensive research in molecular biology and biophysics, and he has made significant contributions to elucidating how phase separation influences cellular function and disease. His laboratory employs interdisciplinary approaches combining biology, physics, and engineering to explore the emergent properties of biological materials, aiming to uncover fundamental principles that can inform the development of novel therapeutic strategies and biomaterials.

Research topics

• Cell biology
• Biology
• Biophysics
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Statistical physics
• Nanotechnology
• Astrobiology
• Chemical physics
• Environmental science

Selected publications

• The nucleolus as a multiphase liquid condensate

  Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology · 2020 · 1065 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

• Competing Protein-RNA Interaction Networks Control Multiphase Intracellular Organization

  Cell · 2020 · 838 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

• Nucleation landscape of biomolecular condensates

  Nature · 2021 · 211 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Chromatin mechanics dictates subdiffusion and coarsening dynamics of embedded condensates

  Nature Physics · 2021 · 168 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

• Mapping and engineering RNA-driven architecture of the multiphase nucleolus

  Nature · 2025-07-02 · 27 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Biomolecular condensates are key features of intracellular compartmentalization1,2. As the most prominent nuclear condensate in eukaryotes, the nucleolus is a multiphase liquid-like structure in which ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) are transcribed and processed, undergoing multiple maturation steps to form the small (SSU) and large (LSU) ribosomal subunits3–5. However, how rRNA processing is coupled to the layered organization of the nucleolus is poorly understood owing to a lack of tools to precisely m…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Optogenetic Droplets: Using Light to Control Nucleoplasmic Phase Separation

  NIH · $1.4M · 2015–2021

• CAREER: Non-Equilibrium RNA/Protein Liquids and Intracellular Phase Transitions

  NSF · $700k · 2013–2018

• NIH Grant DP2GM10543701

  NIH · $2.4M · 2017

Frequent coauthors

• Amy R. Strom

  Princeton University

  34 shared

• Ned S. Wingreen

  Princeton University

  32 shared

• Jorine M. Eeftens

  Radboud University Nijmegen

  30 shared

• Daniel S.W. Lee

  Berkeley College

  29 shared

• Yaojun Zhang

  Johns Hopkins University

  26 shared

• Joshua A. Riback

  University of Chicago

  23 shared

• David W. Sanders

  Princeton University

  23 shared

• Anthony A. Hyman

  Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics

  20 shared

Labs

• Soft Living Matter GroupPI

  The Soft Living Matter Group at Princeton University focuses on the study of soft materials and their biological applications.

Awards & honors

• National Academy of Sciences, 2026
• Keio Medical Science Prize, 2025
• Raymond and Beverly Sackler International Prize in Biophysic…
• Breakthrough Prize for Life Sciences, 2023
• Tsuneko & Reiji Okazaki Award, 2021

Similar researchers at Princeton University

• Celeste M. Nelsonh-76
• David B. Gravesh-74
• Yueh-Lin (Lynn) Looh-64