Troy A. Brier

Whole-cell simulation is a dynamic field focused on elucidating the driving forces affecting living cells. Stochastic gene expression has profound effects on a cell’s fate; a population of cells with identical genes can vary widely in makeup due to environmental effects. A current research project is to design cells with the minimum number of genes necessary for life and understand the underlying physical principles governing them. My research focuses on developing a kinetic model for the regulation of ptsG-mRNA (an essential sugar transporter in the minimal cell) via SgrS using experimental data coupled with the stochastic simulation software Lattice Microbes.