Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences

Luís A. Nunes Amaral Complex systems approaches to the study of biomedical phenomena

Research Interests

The Amaral lab conducts research on complex biological and social systems across a wide variety of disciplines. Gene regulatory network, chromatin organization, human physiology, and the scientific enterprise  are all examples of complex systems. They have a large number of components that act according to rules that may change over time and that may not be well understood. Moreover, the connectivity of the components may be quite plastic and their roles may be fluid. Because of such adaptability, one frequently observes the emergence of novel structures that could not be predicted from the individual characteristics of the components.

The goal of our research is to develop mechanistic models that provide insight into the emergence, evolution, and stability of complex systems. We pursue approaches that emphasize a holistic view of the system instead of focusing on the details of the components. Our research has recently focused on novel approaches to the study of the multi-level organization of gene regulation in human cells, the identification of hidden states in human physiology, and the increase in scientific fraud.

Selected Publications