Dr. Amara Okafor is a computational biologist at the Whitfield Institute, where her lab models how cellular membranes self-organize — and a writer translating that work for the public.
Read the researchOur group builds computational models of membrane dynamics — not to simplify the cell, but to listen to it more carefully.
A representative selection of papers from the Okafor Lab and collaborators. Full list available on Google Scholar and ORCID.
A selection of conference keynotes, named lectures, and university seminars delivered over the past five years.
Writing, broadcasting, and teaching — because a finding that stays in the lab is only half-discovered.
Essays, broadcasts, and series that carry the lab's questions to a wider readership.
A trade book on membrane biology for general readers, published by Granta. Longlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize.
A four-part series on BBC Radio 4, exploring decision-making in single-celled organisms. Presented and co-written with the BBC Science Unit.
A column for The Guardian Long Read on the inner lives of cells, appearing roughly six times a year since 2021.
A 90-minute documentary for PBS Nova on self-organization in biology, featuring the Okafor Lab's simulations.
A biweekly podcast co-hosted with Dr. Idris Mensah, pairing a biologist and a philosopher on questions of life and form.
The annual Christmas Lecture at the Royal Institution, broadcast on BBC Four. Available on the Ri Channel.
Research inquiries are best directed to the lab address. For media, writing commissions, and speaking engagements, please use the email below.
a.okafor@whitfield.ac.uk