Dr. Ovidiu Lipan

Assistant Professor of Physics
Gottwald Science Center
Office: (804) 287-6670
Fax: (804) 484-1542

http://facultystaff.richmond.edu/~olipan/
Biology is still an uncharted territory from a quantitative point of view and thus opens to new fundamental discoveries. Before Newton, the phenomena of mechanical motion were not understood in their simple fundamental form. Likewise in Molecular Biology we are in a pre-Newtonian time. There are many phenomena for which we do not have a quantitative principle. Moreover, until very recently (~ the year 2000) the experimental approach was focused on a single gene at a time. However, a living organism function only through the interaction of thousands of genes; and these interactions are precisely regulated in time. The need to study more than one gene at a time gave birth to the field of Systems Biology.

My research is focused on connecting the experimental facts with quantitative laws in Systems Biology. In the wet lab, we design the experiments to respond to a quantitative hypothesis about gene interactions. The theoretical approach is based on the use of stochastic processes to understand the signal propagation in genetic networks.

For undergraduate students Systems Biology with its quantitative laws is a new and exciting field of study. Students are welcome to participate in these experimental and/or theoretical projects.

Research:
Systems Biology
Signal propagation in genetic networks
Mammalian cells behavior under stress (experimental wet lab approach)
Mathematical formulation of genetic systems in interaction

Education:
Ph.D., The University of Chicago