Distinguished Visiting Faculty
Dr. John J. Tyson, University Distinguished Professor, Department of Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University visited the Systems Biology Center New York on September 23rd and 24th, 2009.
Dr. Tyson met with members of the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University (NYU) on Wednesday (September 23rd). During his visit to the Courant Institute, Dr. Tyson presented a lecture titled "Reaction Motifs and Functional Modules in Protein Regulatory Networks" at the Biomath Lunchtime Seminar. In the afternoon Dr. Tyson met individually with many students and fellows working on systems biology problems at Mount Sinai
Dr. Tyson spent Thursday (September 24th) meeting with more students and Investigators of the Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. His visit concluded with a lecture titled "Systems Biology of Eukaryotic Cell Cycle Regulation".
Dr. Tyson is a pioneer in computational cell biology. He studies the macromolecular reaction networks that process information in living cells and initiate appropriate responses in terms of cell growth, division and death. He represents the dynamics of these reaction networks in terms of mathematical equations (differential equations, stochastic processes, and discrete switching networks), using computer simulations to work out the precise behavior to be expected of the network. By comparing simulations with experimental data, the computer models can be tested, refined and developed, eventually, into tools for accurate predictions of the physiological responses of healthy and diseased cells.
Educators
Dr. Urszula Golebiewska, Assistant Professor from Queensborough Community College has extended her research experience in the Scarlata Laboratory over the summer. Her research projects in the lab include studies of phosphoinositol 3 kinase; where it is located in the cell and how it is regulated by G proteins.
In the summer of 2009, Jaak Raudsepp, a biochemistry teacher from Northport High School, spent 6 weeks in the Scarlata Laboratory in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at Stony Brook University Medical Center. During this time, he learned about the parameters that determine how strongly proteins interact and the methods used to monitor these interactions. He now has hands-on experiences that he can share with his students.
Graduate Students
Sarwar Jamal Mohammmad, a graduate student in the laboratory of Professor Kanury Rao at ICGEB (International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology) in New Delhi, India visited the Systems Biology Center New York on Wednesday July 23, 2008.
The purpose of the visit was to spend a day learning the detailed protocol for the Panomics protein-DNA arrays to profile transcription factor activation. Jamal's project is to understand the global role of transcriptional control in G1 arrest in B cells that have been presented with antigen. His goal is to link up the upstream signaling network in B cells with the microarray data. We provided him with a detailed protocol and will continue to provide advice on as-needed basis