4D Chromosome Organization: Combining Polymer Physics, Knot Theory and High Performance Computing
Schedule
Monday, March 7, 2022
00:00 UTC
Anna Lappala
Dr.
Harvard University
Host: SLAAM by UC Merced
Recording
Open recording
Event Information
Recording
Available
Host
SLAAM by UC Merced
Duration
70 minutes
Abstract
Self-organization is a universal concept spanning numerous disciplines including mathematics, physics and biology. Chromosomes are self-organizing polymers that fold into orderly, hierarchical and yet dynamic structures. In the past decade, advances in experimental biology have provided a means to reveal information about chromosome connectivity, allowing us to directly use this information from experiments to generate 3D models of individual genes, chromosomes and even genomes. In this talk I will present a novel data-driven modeling approach and discuss a number of possibilities that this method holds. I will discuss a detailed study of the time-evolution of X chromosome inactivation, highlighting both global and local properties of chromosomes that result in topology-driven dynamical arrest and present and characterize a novel type of motion we discovered in knots that may have applications to nanoscale materials and machines.
Topics
Related Job Opportunities
JobJobJob
PhD Studentship: Mitochondrial Metabolism and Novel Therapeutic Strategies for Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) (Fixed Term)
Supervisors: Professor Andrew Murray, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge Dr Ross Lindsay, Novo Nordisk Funding: Fully funded PhD studentship (Home/UK…
Posted Aug 10, 2026
Research Associate (Fixed Term)
We seek a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Associate to join the laboratory of Professor Kathy Niakan. We are based in the Loke Centre for Trophoblast Research (LCTR), in the Department of…
Posted Aug 11, 2026
Research Assistant/Associate (Fixed Term)
Applications are invited for a postdoctoral research associate position to study the neural mechanisms of visual learning in mice, in the laboratories of Professor Ole Paulsen and Dr Jasper Poort…
Posted Aug 11, 2026