Since Then

Marco went on to study physics in the United States, and into research at the meeting point of physics and biology.

• Brandeis University, 2023: Bachelor of Science in Physics, summa cum laude, with highest honors in Physics and a minor in Computer Science, on a full scholarship
• New York University, 2025: Master of Science in Physics, focusing on soft matter physics, after being admitted to the Physics PhD program

Research

• Living Patterns Lab, Brandeis (2020 to 2022): studied how the tiny hair-like cilia on living cells beat together, using high-speed microscopy and microfluidic devices he helped build.
• Rogers Lab, Brandeis (2022 to 2023): awarded a Brandeis MRSEC SMURF research fellowship to study how DNA forms liquid droplets. He designed a microfluidic device and image-analysis tools to measure more than 50,000 DNA droplets.
• Zidovska Lab, NYU (2024 onward): research fellow tracking how chromatin, the DNA inside the cell nucleus, moves and flows in living human cells over 30 hours. He presented this work at the 2024 Biophysical Society Meeting in Los Angeles.

Publication

T. Li, O. Hegde, M. Borja, A. Sharma, W. M. Jacobs and W. B. Rogers, "Competition between Self-Assembly and Phase Separation Governs High-Temperature Condensation of a DNA Liquid," Physical Review Letters, May 2024.

This site was built by Marco in 2018, during his high school years at Philippine Science High School.