Title: Quantifying approximate symmetries in biological systems
Abstract: 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.
Bio: Dr. Adriana Dawes is a Professor at The Ohio State University, with a joint appointment in the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Molecular Genetics. Prof. Dawes’ research tightly weaves experimental and theoretical approaches to better understand how biochemical, mechanical and geometric cellular features interact and regulate each other during development to give rise to a functional organism. Her research connects dynamics across multiple scales, using experimentally validated mathematical models to investigate force generation and large scale movement in the cell, and revealing how the structure of signaling networks interacts with genetic backgrounds to produce tissue-specific responses. Prof. Dawes is the recipient of an NSF CAREER award, and has also been funded by NIH and private foundations, including the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.