Description:

Title: How Can Discrete Mathematics Improve RNA Folding Predictions

Speaker: Christine Heitsch, Mathematics, Georgia Institute of Technology

Abstract: Understanding the folding of RNA sequences into three-dimensional structures, such as a viral genome inside its protein capsid, is a fundamental scientific challenge.  Branching is a critical characteristic of RNA folding, yet too often poorly predicted under standard thermodynamic optimization methods.
By formulating this optimization problem as a linear program, we can fully characterize how predictions depend on the branching model parameters using methods from discrete mathematics.  Through this parametric analysis of the associated convex polytopes and their normal fans, we can significantly improve RNA branching prediction accuracy on well-defined families while also illuminating why the general problem is so difficult.

**Please note, this event will be held in person, and also online via Zoom at the following link: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/92016927424

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