Entry Date:
February 26, 2014

Analysis and Design of Stochastic Biomolecular Systems

Principal Investigator Domitilla Del Vecchio


Biomolecular systems are intrinsically stochastic. Therefore, It is important to understand the repercussions of any design (for example for insulation or adaptation) on the noise of the system. For example, the high gains that are at the basis of some insulation device designs may enhance noise. In order to understand stochastic effects, it is essential to reduce the complexity of the system to obtain an analytical grasp. A powerful tool in deterministic systems to reduce the complexity of a model is exploiting time-scale separation, which is ubiquitous in biomolecular systems. To perform this model reduction, we are developing a singular perturbation theory for stochastic systems modeled by the master equation. Concurrently, we are employing these techniques to obtain insights on the stochastic effects of retroactivity and insulation and to investigate possible fundamental limitations.