Naomi Nakayama

• Year

  2023

• Program

  Schmidt Science Polymaths

• Institution

  Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Imperial College London

• Field of Study

  Bioengineering

• Location

  London, Japan

Dr. Naomi Nakayama is a Reader (Associate Professor) in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London. She directs the Biological Form and Function Lab, where an interdisciplinary and international team of researchers study the How and Why of plant structural design. Plants make highly specialized structures to sense and respond to the environment, such as optical cues, airborne chemicals, and moisture levels. For example, the common dandelion makes a parachute-like bundle of hairs in its fruit to enhance air drag, which closes when wet. This morphing enables the seed to fly away preferentially in strong wind conditions, aiding long-distance dispersal. Dr. Nakayama expanded her scientific field as intriguing questions arose – from botany and developmental biology to solid and fluid biomechanics, evolutionary biology and ecology, and synthetic biology. She aims to understand the evolutionary forces acting on biological design, to predict future forms of life through the changing climate. Visit the Nakayama Lab website (www.bfflab.org) for more information on their work.