IGMS: An Investigation of Biomolecular Graphs

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Graph invariants and graph-theoretic indices have been used to predict properties and determine structural similarities in chemical molecules. The fundamental problem addressed in this research is how to translate molecular descriptors to meaningful biomolecular descriptors. The PI will spend a year in the Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University working with investigators in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. She will undertake an intense study of the fundamentals of molecular biology and techniques in chemical graph theory. In particular, she will focus on the current research conducted by Dr. Zou and his colleagues in the College of Medicine on DNA repair mechanisms and protein structure. She will develop graphical models of biomolecules, including both nucleic acids and the proteins they encode. The primary areas of focus in the year of study are: a) secondary and tertiary RNA structures, b) nucleotide excision repair, a DNA repair mechanism and, c) tertiary protein structures and the protein folding problem.This IGMS project is jointly supported by the MPS Office of Multidisciplinary Activities (OMA) and the Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS).