The Needleman laboratory combines quantitative experiments and theory to study the architecture and dynamics of self-organizing subcellular structures. Our long term goals are to determine if there are general principles which govern these nonequilibrium steady-state systems and to develop predictive models of cellular organization and behavior.

Work in the laboratory currently focuses on studying the metaphase spindle and on developing relevant techniques. This highly interdisciplinary research uses approaches from cell biology, biophysics, engineering and physics.