The Caltech Effect: Michaëlle Mayalu on CS + Control Theory and Synthetic Biology

New areas of research are emerging at Caltech where computer science (CS) and other fields intersect. Caltech’s CS+X initiative supports the development of new paradigms for computation and pushes the boundaries of machine learning and statistics in ways that transform or create entirely new disciplines. Inspired by these possibilities, more than 40 percent of Caltech undergraduate students currently major or minor in computer science.

In this video, postdoctoral scholar Michaëlle Mayalu explains how she uses computer science to create mathematical descriptions for the types of biological computations that cells make. A better understanding of cell behavior is essential for the development of smart therapies to treat cancer and other health conditions. Mayalu works in the lab of Richard Murray, Caltech’s Thomas E. and Doris Everhart Professor of Control and Dynamical Systems and Bioengineering.

This is one in a suite of five videos produced for the January 2020 issue of Caltech’s campaign e-magazine, The Caltech Effect.

©2020 California Institute of Technology

[emmanuelezenwere]

The analogy of cells as micro computers is very insightful. I would add they are more like edge computers connected to a centralized server (the brain)