Dr. Adriana Dawes #

Ohio State University, USA

Quantifying approximate symmetries in biological systems #

16:45–17:45 Monday 3 April 2023 in X block lecture theatres

What do leaves and human faces have in common? What about daisies and sea urchins? They possess bilateral and rotational symmetries! Symmetry is a fundamental feature of natural systems, and is often correlated with survival, fecundity, and evolvability. While symmetry is ubiquitous and often intuitively obvious, symmetry in biological organisms is rarely perfect, making it challenging to apply mathematical definitions of idealized symmetry. To address this challenge, we developed a flexible, entropy-based method for quantifying symmetry that requires very little user input. I will highlight some novel insights arising from applications of this measure, including evidence for convergent evolution in flowering plants, classification of biopolymer networks, and visualization of the emergence and loss of symmetries in pattern formation systems.

Biography #

Professor Dawes is a faculty member at the Ohio State University, with a joint appointment in the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Molecular Genetics. Prof. Dawes’ research uses rigorous mathematical tools to uncover fundamental regulatory mechanisms in cell and developmental biology, with a particular focus on understanding how cells integrate biochemical, mechanical, and geometric information to make appropriate cell fate decisions. Prof. Dawes is a former Associate Director of the Mathematical Biosciences Institute, serves as senior editor at the Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, is the holder of a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation (USA), and is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health (USA).

Further information about the Dawes Lab: https://people.math.osu.edu/dawes.33/