Modeling DNA Self-Assembly Using Graph Theory
Leyda Almodóvar Velázquez, Ph.D.
Stonehill College
Motivated by the discovery of new laboratory techniques, formal graph theory has recently become useful in the study of self-assembling DNA complexes. Construction methods developed with concepts from undergraduate level graph theory have resulted in significantly increased efficiency. Recently, an interest within DNA nanotechnology is the formation of nanotubes using lattice structures. These nanotubes are thought to have wide-ranging potential, potentially serving as containers for the transport and release of nano-cargos, as templates for the controlled growth of nano-objects, and as drug-delivery vehicles. Rules governing the structure of these nanotubes are not yet well understood, and this naturally offers open problems in the realm of applied graph theory. In this talk, we discuss the graph theoretical formalism of lattice-based nanotube construction and explore related design strategy problems.
Dr. Almodóvar Velázquez completed a B.S. in Mathematics at the University of Puerto Rico- Mayagüez and a Ph.D. in Mathematics at the University of Iowa. As a graduate student she completed a certificate in College Teaching and received the Catherine Wegner Outstanding Mathematics TA Award, recognizing outstanding teaching assistants in the mathematics department. She has been an advocate of undergraduate research since her years as a graduate student, having assisted and mentored underrepresented students at the research program MSRI-UP in Berkeley, CA. As an Assistant Professor at Stonehill College, she has served as a faculty mentor and research director for Stonehill Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE). Her areas of interest include DNA self-assembly, topological data analysis, graph theory, and applications to biology.
