Sarah A. Nowak
Education
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
PhD., Biomathematics 2009
MS., Biomathematics 2005
Adviser: Tom Chou
Research Focus: Free and moving boundary problems in cell biology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
BS., Physics 2004
Adviser: Arshad Kudrolli
Thesis: Maximum angle of stability and repose in cohesive granular material
Employment
RAND Corporation
Associate Physical Scientist
Bioengineering Dept., UCLA
Teaching Assistant for Topics in biophysics,
channels and membranes
Santa Monica, CA
2009–present
Los Angeles, CA
Winter, 2008 & 2009
Awards
2008-2009 UCLA Dissertation Year Fellowship
2005-2008 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
2004-2005 NIH Systems and Integrative Biology Training Grant
2004 Matthew J. Orloff Award (outstanding senior thesis, MIT dept of Physics)
Publications
S. Nowak, T. Chou, “Models of dynamic extraction of lipid tethers from cell membranes”,
Physical Biology, 7,026002, (2010)
S. Nowak, B. Chakrabarti, A. Gopinathan, T. Chou “Frequency-dependent chemotactic
target selection,” Physical Biology, 7, 026003, (2010)
S. Nowak, T. Chou, “Mechanisms of receptor/coreceptor-mediated entry of enveloped
viruses,” Biophys. J., 96, 3949-3958, (2009)
S. Nowak, T. Chou, “Membrane lipid segregation in endocytosis,” Phys. Rev. E 78, 021908
(2008)
S. Nowak, P-W. Fok, T. Chou, “Dynamic boundaries in asymmetric exclusion processes,”
Phys. Rev. E 76, 031135 (2007)
Y. Yao, S. Nowak, A Yochelis, A. Garfinkel, K. I. Bostrom, “Matrix GLA protein, an
inhibitory morphogen in pulmonary vascular development,” J. Biol. Chem. 282,
30131-30142 (2007)
Sarah A. Nowak
Page 2
S. Nowak, A. Samadani, A. Kudrolli, “Maximum angle of stability of a wet granular pile,”
Nature Physics 1, 50-52 (2005)
Contributed Talks
S. Nowak and T. Chou, “Fusion vs. endocytosis in receptor/ coreceptor mediated entry
of enveloped viruses” Q-Bio Conference, Santa Fe, NM August 2008.
S. Nowak and T. Chou, “Lipid segregation in endocytosis” BPS meeting, Long Beach, CA
February 2008.
S. Nowak and T. Chou, “Concentration-curvature coupling in endocytosis” APS meeting,
Denver, CO March 2007.
S. Nowak, A. Samadani, A. Kudrolli, “The maximum angle of stability of a cohesive
granular pile,” APS Meeting, Los Angeles, CA March 2005.