This project?s goal is to develop formal models for the analysis of a wide class of stochastic systems that arises in biology ranging from the dynamics of biological processes that occur at the molecular/cellular level to the interacting populations of organisms within an ecosystem.
This project has a high potential for strong societal impact, as a formal understanding of the principles behind gene regulation can lower the high costs involved into the experimental effort that is currently needed in drug discovery by the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, in an ecology context, dynamic population models provide formal tools for the efficient management of environmental resources.
Intellectual merit:
The research proposed will make significant contributions to the modeling and analysis of stochastic systems. In particular, the following fundamental issues will be addressed: 1. Development of a modeling framework for stochastic population dynamics based on approximate moment closure techniques. 2. Development of a theory to simplify complex gene regulatory networks based on time-scales separation. 3. Development of formal tools to detect oscillations in stochastic biological systems and to understand their dependence on system parameters.
Broader impacts:
The proposed activities will have a strong educational component aimed at motivating undergraduate students to pursue advanced degrees in the engineering sciences. This will be achieved through the following initiatives: 1. Increasing the research content of current UCSB undergraduate courses. 2. Expanding our undergraduate Summer Internships program that brings to our laboratory current UCSB undergraduate students and minority students from local community colleges.
