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NOMATEN Seminar on FEB 8: Functional Data Analysis of DNA Molecular Dynamics

Date
Date 2
Place
https://www.gotomeet.me/NCBJmeetings/nomaten-seminar

NOMATEN SEMINAR

https://www.gotomeet.me/NCBJmeetings/nomaten-seminar  

Tuesday, FEBRUARY 8th 2022 13:00 (1.00PM CET)

Functional Data Analysis of DNA Molecular Dynamics

Prof.  Dr. Victor Panaretos, Écolepolytechniquefédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland.

Abstract:

An important problem in contemporary biophysics is that of understanding the mechanical/dynamical properties of DNA strands, and linking them to base-pair sequence composition. Since moving DNAcannot (yet) be reliably "video recorded" experimentally, scientists rely on molecular dynamics simulations obtained by numerically solving atomic level interaction models. These are extraordinary in their computational and mathematical complexity, and often are not amenable to the extraction of interpretable dynamics in some idealised smooth limit. The following statistical challenge presents itself: can one infer qualitative informationby empirical observation of a molecular dynamics DNA trajectory, and indeed link it to the DNA base-pair sequence composition by means of some quantification of its statistical significance? Can this be done with minimal or no structural assumptions on the nature ofthe dynamics (such as linearity or Gaussianity)? We will attempt to answer some of these questions by means of a functional time series framework, where one is precisely interested in probing the dynamical structure of sequences of random curves on the basis of a realisation of a finite stretch of such a sequence (based on joint work with S. Tavakoli).

Victor Panaretos

Bio:

Victor Michael Panaretos (born 1982) is a Greek mathematical statistician. He is currently Professor and Director at the Institute of Mathematics of the EPFL, where he holds the Chair of Mathematical Statistics.

Panaretos received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in 2007, advised by David R. Brillinger. His doctoral thesis was awarded the Erich Lehmann Award. Upon graduation he took up a faculty position at EPFL, becoming the youngest person ever to be appointed to a Chair at the institution.He is an Elected Member[6] of the International Statistical Institute and a Fellow [7]of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. He was a recipient of an ERC Starting Grant Award in 2010,and the 2019 Bernoulli Society Forum Lecturer.

An active member of the Bernoulli Society and its parent organization, the International Statistical Institute, Panaretos has served the probability and statistics community from several posts, notably as the Editor of Bernoulli News,a member of the ISI Council,[11] and as President-Elect of the Bernoulli Society.

Galeria
Victor Panaretos


This project has received funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 857470 and from European Regional Development Fund
via Foundation for Polish Science International Research Agenda PLUS programme grant
No MAB PLUS/2018/8.
Poland
The project is co-financed from the state budget within the framework of the undertaking of the Minister of Science and Higher Education "Support for the activities of Centers of Excellence established under Horizon 2020".

Grant: 5 143 237,70 EUR
Total value: 29 971 365,00 EUR
Date of signing the funding agreement: December 2023

The purpose of the undertaking is to support entities of the higher education and science system that have received funding from the European Union budget in the competition H2020-WIDESPREAD-2018-2020/WIDESPREAD-01-2018-2019: Teaming Phase 2. in the preparation, implementation and updating of activities, maintenance of material resources necessary for carrying out activities, acquisition and modernization of scientific and research apparatus, maintenance and development of personnel potential necessary for the implementation of activities, and dissemination of the results of scientific activities.