Colloquium

Scheduled Talk - October 19, 2009 - [ 3:00PM in DH 1064 ]

Matthew Bennett
Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology
Rice University

"Modeling the Dynamics of Gene Regulatory Networks"

Abstract:
Gene regulatory networks are at the heart of cellular function and help to determine cell fate and phenotype. A coherent mathematical understanding of how these networks operate will be necessary not just to elucidate the true function of cellular machinery, but also to guide the design of engineered networks for use in practical applications. In this talk, I will examine two recent experiments that revealed fundamental flaws in our ability to computationally model dynamical gene regulation and cellular signaling. First, by driving the galactose utilization network of S. cerevisiae with a time-dependent signal we find previously undiscovered network connections and modes of regulation. Second, we construct a two-gene synthetic oscillator in E. coli and find that mathematical models have difficulty even with this "simple" network.