Events
Past Event
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Brian Munsky, Colorado State University "Measuring and Predicting the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology - One Molecule at a Time"
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Speaker:
Brian Munsky, Assistant Professor. Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado State University
Title:
Measuring and Predicting the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology - One Molecule at a Time
Abstract:
Modern experimental advances have made it possible to measure DNA, RNA, and protein dynamics at the level of single molecules in single cells. These discrete data are often noisy, but they can be highly informative, especially when they are combined with advanced computational models. I will present a few recent advances in the integration of discrete stochastic models with different single-cell assays. First, I will introduce modern single-molecule experiments that are used to quantify mRNA and protein dynamics in fixed or live cells. Next, we will discuss the derivation of strict bounds on the likelihood that observed single-cell data could have come from hypothesized regulatory models, and we will show how these bounds can be used to reduce computational efforts with no sacrifice to accuracy or precision. Then we will explore new computational approaches to design optimal single-cell experiments to maximize the expected information contained within an experiment. We will illustrate the integration of these experimental and computational tools to build predictive models for mechanistic biochemical processes in yeast and human cells, including spatiotemporal cell-signaling, single-gene transcription activation, nascent mRNA elongation, mRNA transport, mRNA-translation activation, and sequence-dependent nascent protein elongation. Finally, we will discuss how discrete stochastic quantitative models can be used to extend the capabilities of super-resolution microscopy and make it possible to measure more molecular species within a single experiment.
Speaker Bio:
Brian Munsky earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Penn State University in 2000 and 2002, and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from UC Santa Barbara in 2008. He then conducted research at the Los Alamos National Laboratory — as a Director’s Postdoctoral Fellow (2008-2010), as a Richard P. Feynman Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow in Theory and Computing (2010-2013), and as a Staff Scientist (2013). Dr. Munsky joined the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and the School of Biomedical Engineering as an assistant professor in 2014. Brian is best known for his discovery of Finite State Projection algorithm, which has enabled inference of efficient and predictive models of single-cell gene regulation in bacteria, yeast and human cells. Brian was the recipient of the 2008 UCSB Department of Mechanical Engineering best Ph.D. Dissertation award, the 2010 Leon Heller Postdoctoral Publication Prize, and the 2012 LANL Postdoc Distinguished Performance Award for his work in this topic. Since joining CSU, Brian has received multiple research grants including the W M Keck Foundation grant (co-PI with Dr. Timothy Stasevich at CSU) and the NIH-NIGMS Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) for Early State Investigators. Dr. Munsky is also the contact organizer of the internationally recognized, NIH-funded q-bio summer school, where he runs single-cell stochastic gene regulation (q-bio.org).
About the Speaker Series:
Wednesdays@NICO is a vibrant weekly seminar series focusing broadly on the topics of complex systems and data science. It brings together attendees ranging from graduate students to senior faculty who span all of the schools across Northwestern, from applied math to sociology to biology and every discipline in-between.
Live Stream:
Time
Wednesday, April 18, 2018 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
Dynamics Days 2019: International Conference on Nonlinear Dynamics
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
All Day
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Hilton Orrington Evanston
Details
Dynamics Days 2019
International Conference on Nonlinear Dynamics
January 4–6, 2019
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Conference Web site: ddays2019.northwestern.edu
Dynamics Days is an annual conference on applications of nonlinear dynamics. Sessions will cover a broad range of topics, including neuroscience, fluids, data-driven & machine learning methods, nonlinear materials, complex networks, and human & biological systems.
Partial financial support will be provided to a selection of students and postdoctoral researchers. Women and researchers from underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. Seating is limited and registration is required.
Time
Friday, January 4, 2019
Location
Hilton Orrington Evanston Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
Winter Classes begin 8 a.m.
University Academic Calendar
All Day
Details
Winter Classes begin 8 a.m.
Time
Monday, January 7, 2019
Contact
Calendar
University Academic Calendar
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Luis Amaral, Northwestern University "TBA"
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Speaker:
Luis Amaral, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Co-Director of the Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems, Northwestern University
Title:
TBA
Abstract:
TBA
Speaker Bio:
Professor Amaral, a native of Portugal, conducts and directs research that provides insight into the emergence, evolution, and stability of complex social and biological systems. His research aims to address some of the most pressing challenges facing human societies and the world’s ecosystems, including the mitigation of errors in healthcare settings, the characterization of the conditions fostering innovation and creativity, or the growth limits imposed by sustainability.
Recently, Amaral proposed the development of cartographic methods for the representation of complex biological networks. These methods will enable researchers to to glean the important information on a given system at the scale of interest to the researcher. These tools hold the promise to enable biomedical researcher to design or re-engineer biological systems for therapeutic purposes.
Professor Amaral has published over a 150 scientific peer-reviewed papers in leading scientific journals. Those papers have been cited in excess of 15 thousand times. His research has been featured in numerous media sources, both in the US and abroad. Professor Amaral has received a CAREER award from the National Institutes of Health, was named a Distinguished Young Scholars in Medical Research by the W. M. Keck Foundation, and has been selected as an Early Career Scientist by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Live Stream:
Time
Wednesday, January 16, 2019 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Lauren Balmert, Northwestern University "TBA"
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Speaker:
Lauren Balmert, Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
Title:
TBA
Abstract:
TBA
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Balmert's research interests are primarily collaborative and include the application of biostatistics to a wide range of areas including urology, audiology, and pediatric medicine. Previous research has also focused on investigating mortality trends by various geographic and demographic factors. Her methodological research focuses on nonparametric methods for time-to-event data analysis.
Live Stream:
Time
Wednesday, January 23, 2019 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Monica Olvera de la Cruz, Northwestern University "TBA"
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Speaker:
Monica Olvera de la Cruz, Lawyer Taylor Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University
Title:
TBA
Abstract:
TBA
Speaker Bio:
Research in the Olvera de la Cruz group is centered around the development of models to describe the self-assembly of heterogeneous molecules including amphiphiles, copolymers, and synthetic and biological polyelectrolytes, as well as the segregation and interface adsorption in multicomponent complex fluids. Work by the group has resulted in a revised model of ionic-driven assembly: demonstrating the electrostatic spontaneous symmetry breaking of ionic fibers and membranes, and identifying its relevance to biological functions and to the design of functional materials. The group's investigations into soft and condensed matter physics have advanced scientific knowledge and opened new research fields of technological importance, including gel electrophoreses dynamics, self-organization of molecular electrolytes into bio-mimetic materials, self-assembly of heterogeneous molecules into complex nanostructures, interface adsorption and phase segregation dynamics and structure of multicomponent fluids.
Live Stream:
Time
Wednesday, January 30, 2019 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Leslie DeChurch, Northwestern University "TBA"
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Speaker:
Leslie DeChurch, Professor of Communication Studies, Northwestern University
Title:
TBA
Abstract:
TBA
Speaker Bio:
Leslie DeChurch’s research investigates teamwork and leadership in organizations. She is Professor of Communication Studies, and holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Psychology, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences. She is President and Chairperson of the Board of INGRoup, the Interdisciplinary Network for Group Research.
Professor DeChurch leads the ATLAS lab: Advancing Teams, Leaders, and Systems. ATLAS explores the dynamics through which teams form, and how these dynamics affect their performance as teams, and their ability to work as larger organizational systems (multiteam systems). ATLAS conducts laboratory and online experiments, meta-analytic integrations, and field studies of teams and leaders to understand their core organizing processes. Such processes include: leadership networks, team cognition, team conflict and motivation, and team information sharing.
Live Stream:
Time
Wednesday, February 6, 2019 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Chris Wolverton, Northwestern University "TBA"
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Speaker:
Chris Wolverton, Jerome B. Cohen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University
Title:
TBA
Abstract:
TBA
Speaker Bio:
Chris Wolverton's research group is centered on computational materials science, and specifically first-principles quantum mechanical simulation tools. These computational tools have advanced to the point now where materials may be "synthesized virtually", with their properties predicted on a computer before ever being synthesized in a laboratory. These tools also open the field of "materials informatics" where we can use machine learning tools to explore materials datasets and discover new materials. In this work, his group is working towards a goal of being able to suggest new materials in the same way that Netflix and Amazon can recommend movies or books.
Live Stream:
Time
Wednesday, February 13, 2019 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Sera Young, Northwestern University "TBA"
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Speaker:
Sera Young, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University
Title:
TBA
Abstract:
TBA
Speaker Bio:
The focus of Dr. Young’s work is on the reduction of maternal and child-undernutrition in the first 1000 days, especially in low-resource settings. Methodologically, she draws on her training in medical anthropology (MA, University of Amsterdam), international nutrition (PhD, Cornell) and HIV (Fellowship, University of California San Francisco) to take a biocultural approach to understanding how mothers in low-resource settings cope to preserve their health and that of their families.
Live Stream:
Time
Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)