Special Christmas seminar: A Topological Data Analysis perspective on coronavirus evolution

Raul Rabadan is a theoretical physicist and computational biologist. After getting his PhD in Theoretical Physics, he did postdoctoral work at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, before joining Columbia University as a faculty member. At Columbia University, Dr. Rabadan directs  the Program for Mathematical Genomics and the Center for Topology of Cancer Evolution and Heterogeneity. He applies quantitative approaches to model and understand the dynamics of biological systems through the lens of genomics. His research focuses on the evolution of two biological systems, namely cancer and infectious diseases. In the area of infectious diseases, he studies the evolution of emerging pathogens by the analysis of their genomes, in particular the genomes of RNA viruses such as influenza and coronaviruses. His recent book, “Understanding Coronavirus'” provides a concise and accessible introduction to the coronavirus SARS-COV-2 which has caused the ongoing global pandemic. He is also the author of a textbook about the use of topological methods in genomic analysis (“Topological Data Analysis for Genomics and Evolution: Topology in Biology”). This seminar will present an overview of the origin and evolution of the pandemic virus and how topological techniques can help to elucidate the emergence of these viruses.

Zoom details:
Meeting ID: 876 6660 9687 
Passcode: 210027