EPFL BioE Talks SERIES "Convergence or Accident: Emergence of Hierarchical Muti-Step Processing in Intracellular Signaling, Brain Function and Artificial Neural Networks"
Event details
| Date | 08.09.2025 |
| Hour | 12:15 › 13:15 |
| Speaker | Prof. Andre Levchenko, Yale University, New Haven, CT (USA) |
| Location | Online |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
| Event Language | English |
WEEKLY EPFL BIOE TALKS SERIES (sandwiches provided)
Abstract:
Convergent evolution during optimization of both biological and non-biological systems can result in strikingly similar solutions to common problems. In the context of sensory perception of complex signals that vary in time, it is important to detect and process information on multiple temporal scales. This challenge is common for both evolved biological and optimized engineered systems. Here, using recent findings across diverse fields and, specifically, the analysis of signal transduction networks at our lab, I will argue that the common properties of intracellular, neuronal and artificial network signal processing – multi-step organization with hierarchical time scale distribution across successive steps – is an emergent property that is universal and convergent across multiple sensory network types. This analysis can facilitate understanding and design of sensory systems in biological and non-biologic contexts, and enable formulation of fundamental principles driving evolution of complex networks.
Bio:
Education:
Dr. Andre Levchenko is the Principal Investigator of CaSB@Yale. He is the John C. Malone Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Yale and is also the Founding Director of Yale Systems Biology Institute (YSBI), whose major unifying activity will be centered on this Project. Dr. Levchenko has been the director of YSBI since Fall 2013, guiding it through a 2-fold expansion, consolidation in a new space, and establishment of vigorous research experience on a new campus. Dr. Levchenko is a systems biologist, bio-engineer, and biophysicist who has been among the active developers of Systems Biology as a discipline since its most recent emergence, and has made considerable impact on the integrative computational/experimental analysis of cellular signaling and cell-cell communication. His more recent efforts are in development of novel micro- and nano-fabricated devices for enhanced control of cellular micro-environments. His work on understanding of the innate immune response and mechanisms of cell migration has received wide acclaim (with the latter leading to his election as a Fellow of the American Physical Society earlier this year). His current focus is on understanding of the mechanisms of aggressive cell migration in diverse settings and in response to different cues. This research emphasis created the platform for unifying the efforts of multiple Yale researchers.
Zoom link (with one-time registration for the whole series) for attending remotely: https://go.epfl.ch/EPFLBioETalks
Instructions for 1st-year Ph.D. students planning to attend this talk, who are under EDBB’s mandatory seminar attendance rule:
IN CASE you cannot attend in-person in the room, please make sure to
Abstract:
Convergent evolution during optimization of both biological and non-biological systems can result in strikingly similar solutions to common problems. In the context of sensory perception of complex signals that vary in time, it is important to detect and process information on multiple temporal scales. This challenge is common for both evolved biological and optimized engineered systems. Here, using recent findings across diverse fields and, specifically, the analysis of signal transduction networks at our lab, I will argue that the common properties of intracellular, neuronal and artificial network signal processing – multi-step organization with hierarchical time scale distribution across successive steps – is an emergent property that is universal and convergent across multiple sensory network types. This analysis can facilitate understanding and design of sensory systems in biological and non-biologic contexts, and enable formulation of fundamental principles driving evolution of complex networks.
Bio:
Education:
- Eng.Sc.D., Columbia University
- M.S., Columbia University
- B.S./M.S., Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology
Zoom link (with one-time registration for the whole series) for attending remotely: https://go.epfl.ch/EPFLBioETalks
Instructions for 1st-year Ph.D. students planning to attend this talk, who are under EDBB’s mandatory seminar attendance rule:
IN CASE you cannot attend in-person in the room, please make sure to
- send D. Reinhard a note well ahead of time (ideally before seminar day), informing that you plan to attend the talk online, and, during seminar:
- be signed in on Zoom with a recognizable user name (not any alias making it difficult or impossible to identify you).
Practical information
- Informed public
- Registration required
Organizer
- Prof. Sahand Rahi, Institute of Physics & Institute of Bioengineering
Contact
- Institute of Bioengineering (IBI), Dietrich REINHARD