Dartmouth Autonomy Seminar

"Some theoretical results about responses to inputs and transients in systems biology"

Abstract

This talk will focus on systems-theoretic and control theory tools that help characterize the responses of nonlinear systems to external inputs, with an emphasis on how network structure "motifs" introduce constraints on finite-time, transient behaviors. Of interest are qualitative features that are unique to nonlinear systems, such as non-harmonic responses to periodic inputs or the invariance to input symmetries. These properties play a key role as tools for model discrimination and reverse engineering in systems biology, as well as in characterizing robustness to disturbances. Our research has been largely motivated by biological problems at all scales, from the molecular (e.g., extracellular ligands affecting signaling and gene networks), to cell populations (e.g., resistance to chemotherapy due to systemic interactions between the immune system and tumors; drug-induced mutations; sensed external molecules triggering activations of specific neurons in worms), to interactions of individuals (e.g., periodic or single-shot non-pharmaceutical "social distancing" interventions for epidemic control). Subject to time constraints, we'll briefly discuss some of these applications.

The Dartmouth Autonomy Seminars explore how common principles of autonomy link fields such as robotics, economics, and cognition, and bring together academia and industry to discuss autonomous systems.

About the Speaker(s)

Eduardo Sontag
Professor, Northeastern University

Contact

For more information, contact Ada Yildirim at ada.yildirim.th@dartmouth.edu .