Dynamics in Biology

Cells are the fundamental units of life. A cell’s ability to replicate, grow, divide, and interact with its environment lies at the heart of every organism. These basic biological processes are precisely regulated in space and time by a complex and dynamic network of interacting genes, RNAs, and proteins.

Our lab aims at providing a simpler view of this incredible biological complexity, primarily focusing on the regulation of cell division. We believe that understanding the system dynamics is essential to achieving this goal. The dynamical interaction of proteins can lead to robust systems-level behavior, for example, the irreversible cellular decision to divide. Different sets of proteins often interact in similar ways to generate the same function (e.g., an irreversible switch), underscoring the relevance of a generic dynamical view of biology.

In our studies we glean techniques from physics and mathematics, such as the theory of nonlinear dynamics and complex systems, which allows us to theoretically analyze the spatiotemporal dynamics of molecules inside cells. This approach is complemented by molecular and cellular experiments, in which we test our hypotheses by controllably perturbing biological processes in model organisms such as Xenopus frogs, zebrafish, and mammalian cells. This synergistic approach is geared toward understanding how cells are regulated in space and time. In the long-term we believe that a functional understanding of a cell’s most basic processes will contribute to developing new therapeutic strategies to combat diseases such as cancer.