Nancy Forde

Nancy Forde is a Professor and Graduate Chair in the Department of Physics at Simon Fraser University (SFU). She holds affiliations with the Departments of Chemistry and Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, and the Centre for Cell Biology, Development and Disease. Her research focuses on collagen mechanics, molecular motor design, and advanced microscopy techniques. She has been recognized for teaching excellence and graduate supervision, including awards from SFU and the Biophysical Society of Canada.

Education: B.Sc. in Physics from the University of Toronto, M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Chicago. Active in undergraduate education, she teaches courses like PHYS 102, 801, and 802. Her lab, Forde Lab, develops tools like AutoSmarTrace for AFM image analysis and explores synthetic protein motors.

Research interests include collagen's mechanical properties at multiple scales, high-throughput single-molecule techniques (centrifuge force microscopy, magnetic tweezers), and artificial motor proteins. Recent work examines collagen's response to thermal and chemical aging, and the design of burnt-bridge ratchet systems. Over 150 peer-reviewed publications span biophysics, materials science, and synthetic biology.

Awards include the Cottrell Scholar (2007-2009) and Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholarships (2005-2011). Advised over 20 graduate students and postdocs, with current advisees including Alaa Al-Shaer and Janine Srocka. Collaborates internationally on projects funded by NSERC, CIHR, and the Research Corporation.

Labs/Teams: Forde Lab (SFU), part of interdisciplinary networks including the Biophysical Society and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. Maintains equipment like atomic force microscopes and optical tweezers systems for single-molecule studies.