UA Biophysics:Systems Biology

Systems biology

P.I. Juan Manuel Pedraza

We are interested in investigating the dynamic behavior and evolution of synthetic and natural cellular networks, in order to understand fundamental aspects of adaptation and variability in cellular systems. To learn more about these issues, we develop and use several experimental techniques:

Constructions of synthetic genetic circuits, to study what aspects determine their dynamics properties and their potential to evolve.

Flow cytometry studies, to quantitatively observe, through the use of fluorescent reporter genes, stochastic dynamics of natural and synthetic genetic circuits in individual cells.

Implementing dual reporter techniques and mRNA FISH, to study how different sources of genetic noise can generate variability within a cell population.

Also, we use simplified theoretical and computational models of genetic circuits, including deterministic and stochastic dynamical systems theory, to analyze and make predictions regarding switching transitions and population distribution.