Viruses can make collective decisions about cell fate
Jun 20, 2008
We have developed a mathematical theory of how bacterial viruses can make collective decisions concerning the fate of infected cells. For many bacterial viruses, the choice of whether to kill host cells or enter a latent state depends on the multiplicity of coinfection. Coinfection introduces a variable number of phage DNA copies into a host cell which direct the host to produce phage mRNAs and proteins. The distinct phage genomes are coupled via a common pool of transcriptional regulators. When viral regulation of cell fate includes nonlinear feedback loops, this coupling can lead to dramatic changes in steady state gene expression. Hence, we suggest that deterministic decisions can be reached, e.g., lysis or latency, depending on the cellular multiplicity of infection, in agreement with molecular studies of the decision circuit within phage lambda.
Read the full article online on Biophysical Journal BioFast website.
Summer students join group
May 05, 2008
Two undergraduate students joined the group as undergraduate summer research program in Quantitative Systems Biology and Mathematical Biology sponsored by NSF. Sophia Fisher from School of Biology will conduct her research in ecological models of viruses and phage counting experiments. AJ Friend from School of Mathematics will focus on switching behaviors of viruses.
Dr. Miki visits our group
February 18-22, 2008
Dr. Takeshi Miki from Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Japan, visited our group for possible collaboration. His interests cover the dynamics of protists, phage and bacteria, and microbial decomposition and biodiversity.
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Viral Paradigm Workshop
January 14-16, 2008
Our group hosted the "Viral Paradigm Workshop" here on Georgia Tech campus. It was a great chance to meet people with different backgrounds and ideas. Many renowned scientists as well as postdocs and graduate students discussed the theoretical and computational tools to describe the viral world. Topics ranged from viral dynamics within a cell to ecological and epidemiological impact of viruses.
Group Dinner
December 8, 2007
As Srijak and Amol graduated, all the group members gathered at Dr. Weitz's house. Each person prepared traditional home-style dishes. |
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Soccer Match with Goldman Lab
December 1, 2007
There was a soccer match against Dr. Dan Goldman's Lab (School of Physics) on a nice warm day at Piedmont Park. Josh and Yuriy led our offense and Bohyun stopped almost all shots she faced. Thanks to two goals by Chuck, we won 3:1.
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Announcing Viral Workshop @ Georgia Tech
September 5, 2007
Applications from junior researchers are being considered for participation in a two-and-a-half day workshop whose objective is to change the landscape of how we model and understand viruses. A small group of scientists will discuss new theoretical and computational tools to bridge multiple spatiotemporal scales in the study of viral dynamics from phage to human pathogens. Topics will be organized around the following broad themes:
- Within and between cell dynamics
- Within and between host dynamics
- From infection to evolution
More information on the workshop, Viral Paradigms: Molecules, Populations, Ecosystems,and Infectious Disease is available here.
This workshop is made possible via the support of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Georgia Tech's College of Sciences and the Program in Applied, Biological, and Contemporary Mathematics at Tech. Dr. Weitz is organizing the workshop along with Dr. Howie Weiss (Georgia Tech)and Dr. Rustom Antia (Emory).
Dr. Yuriy Mileyko joins group
September 4, 2007
Dr. Yuriy Mileyko arrived this week from Duke University where has spent two years in the Dept. of Computer Science working with Herbert Edelsbrunner and John Harer. Dr. Mileyko is an expert in computational topology and will be working with Drs. Edelsbrunner and Harer and the Weitz group on a number of problems at the interface of biological networks, large-scale data analysis, and topology.
Dr. Chuck Price wins Murray F. Buell award from ESA
September 2, 2007
We have received word that Dr. Price will soon receive the Murray F. Buell awardfrom the Ecological Society of America. The prize is given "to a student for the outstanding oral paper presented at the ESA Annual Meeting." Chuck's work on flexible network branching models of organism al structure has recently been published in PNAS. See more about what Chuck is up to here..
Dr. Hao Wang joins group
August 15, 2007
Dr. Hao Wang joins Georgia Tech as a postdoctoral scientist in the School of Mathematics where he will work with Howie Weiss. Dr. Wang is an expert in dynamical systems and will be collaborating with the Weitz group on a variety of problems related to viral dynamics and evolution.
Group trip to the Georgia Aquarium
March 10, 2007
The Aquarium is a good thing. Here is a snap of a whale shark as well as pictures of humans taking pictures of and talking about whale sharks.
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Website launch
January 16, 2007
The website for the Weitz group @ Georgia Tech officially launched on January 16, 2007. In the real world, the Weitz group can be located on the second floor of Cherry Emerson in the center of Georgia Tech's campus. Follow the new paint smell, or use a map.
Dr. Weitz receives Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface
January 1, 2007
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund has named Joshua S. Weitz one of the 12 recipients of a Career Award at the Scientific Interface (CASI).CASI awardees are trained in the physical/computational sciences and work at the interface of the physical & biological sciences. The award provides 5 years to support postdoctoral training and early faculty research. Dr. Weitz plans to work on the evolutionary ecology of bacterial viruses, continuing work he began as a postdoc at Princeton University.