DiFrisco lab Theoretical Biology Laboratory

Our group focuses on theoretical and philosophical issues in biology.

We aim to develop new frameworks and models for the study of biological complexity, with a particular interest in finding organising principles at the intersection of biological development and evolution.

In addition to these general interests, we have several core areas of research focus. For example, we are interested in the principles that guide and enable generalisations across diverse groups of organisms. We also study the multi-level organisation of organisms—from cell types to tissues and organs—and the evolution of novel body parts. We seek to understand how gene regulatory networks and signalling pathways interact with cell- and tissue-level structures during development. We look at each of these issues from the perspective of the dynamical picture of gene regulation and causality that is emerging from contemporary systems biology.
 
We are interested in collaborating with experimentalists to develop new models and test theoretical ideas.