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East Tennessee State University - NREUP Programs

East Tennessee State University

Title: The Study of Intracellular Processes Using Graph Theory

Director(s): Debra Knisley, Department of Mathematics

Email: knisleyd@etsu.edu

Dates of Program: July 5 - August 13, 2004

Program Website: http://www.etsu.edu/math/knisleyd/nextrysumma.html

Summary: This program involves three projects:

  1. The Protein Folding Problem: This project examines how a linear polymers of amino acids assemble into a three-dimensional object capable of executing a precise chemical function.
  2. DNA Graphs: This project analyzes the sequence of the bases of DNA in determining the characteristics of the protein it builds. It is supplemented with modules from the Bioinfomatics and the Human Genome Project.
  3. Graph Theoretic Techniques in Computational Molecular Biology: The vast amounts of data stemming from both the Human Genome Project and the follow-up project of predicting protein folds (Proteomics) require faster and better algorithm. This Project focuses on the algorithmic problem of clustering and learning how to determine the correct clustering or grouping of the genes so that genes in the same cluster are highly similar to each other.

Project Details: http://www.etsu.edu/math/summaprojects.htm

Student Researchers:

  • Ary Clemons
  • Francesca Duncan
  • Mariam Konatè
  • Jeremy Smith

Program Contacts:

Bill Hawkins
MAA SUMMA
bhawkins@maa.org
202-319-8473

Michael Pearson
MAA Programs & Services
pearson@maa.org
202-319-8470