After training as a physicist researcher across Europe I am now working with biologists, chemists and other physicists to address biological questions that are intractable with conventional methods. We are particularly interested in extracellular matrices that are rich in glycans; these microscopic hydrogel-like assemblies are important regulators of cell function and inter-cellular communication. Resolving how these systems work provides new approaches to prevention, diagnosis and treat disease, and inspiration for the design of new functional materials. To understand how biological functions emerge from the assembly and dynamic reorganization of biomolecules, we adopt a multidisciplinary approach that combines living cells and tissues with well-controlled models of tunable complexity. Exploiting surface science and engineering tools, we tailor-make model systems by the directed self-assembly of purified components on solid supports.