Statistical Molecular Biology Group

The Statistical Molecular Biology Group at Brown University is led by Chip Lawrence, Professor Emeritus of Applied Mathematics.  The group’s research energies are focused on statistical inference in molecular biology, genomics, and paleo-climatology, most specifically on several different high-dimensional (High-D) discrete inference problems in sequence data.  These problems include genome arrangements, analysis of repeated sequences in genomes, and RNA editing and structure.  Data from repeated genome sequences are well suited for processing by implementing the probabilistic models developed by the group’s members. Another facet of our research concerns the growing interest in drawing statistical inferences on the history of climate and its implications for modern climate change using data from ocean sediments and ice cores.  A wide network of collaboration has brought about extensive know-how and creativity to the group’s research.  Among our many collaborators are several Brown faculty members: Professors Susan Gerbi and Robert Reenan from Molecular and Cellular Biology; Professor Case Dunn from Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Professor Ben Raphael from Computer Science; Professor Tim Herbert in Earth, Environmental and Planetary Science; and Professor Lorraine Lisiecki from the Geology Department at UC Santa Barbara.