Main Research Lines
Virus Physics: Elastic Frustration and Capsid Assembly This research line explores the physical principles governing viral capsid assembly and structural organization, with particular emphasis on the roles of geometry, elasticity, and mechanical frustration. Using tools from statistical physics, continuum elasticity, and computational modeling, the work aims to identify generic mechanisms that control shape selection and stability in virus-like assemblies. A central contribution of this line is the development of elastic models that describe how viral capsids emerge as a result of competing geometric and mechanical constraints. Rather than relying solely on biochemical specificity, these models show that capsid morphology can be understood as an outcome of elastic energy minimization under curvature frustration, leading to preferred shapes and characteristic defect structures. In this framework, mis-assembly and shape selection arise naturally when local elastic preferences cannot be s...