Whitmore-Williams Assistant Professor
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The College of Wooster
Mailing Address:
Erzsébet Ravasz Regan
The College of Wooster
Rubbermaid Hall, Room 117
931 College Mall, Wooster, OH 44691
Phone: (330) 263-2092
Fax: (330) 263-2378
E-mail: eregan@wooster.edu
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENT
- 08/2015 – present, Whitmore-Williams Assistant Professor
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The College of Wooster
Wooster, OH. - 07/2007 – 07/2015, Instructor of Medicine,
Center for Vascular Biology Research
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center – Department of Medicine
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
EDUCATION
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 11/2006 – 07/2007
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
Supervisor: William C. Aird. - Director Funded Postdoctoral Fellow, 10/2004 – 10/2006
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM.
Supervisor: Zoltán N. Toroczkai. - Ph.D. in Physics, 08/2000 – 09/2004
University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN.
Thesis advisor: Albert-László Barabási, Emil T. Hofman Professor of Physics.
Research: Evolution, Hierarchy and Modular Organization in Complex Networks
Defence: September 2004. - M.S. in Physics, 10/1999 – 06/2000
Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, RO.
Dissertation advisor: Prof. Zoltán Néda.
Research: Evolution of the social network of scientific collaborations; Spatial stochastic resonance in one-dimensional Ising systems.
Defence: June 2000. - B.S. in Physics with Minor in Physics Education, 10/1995 – 07/1999
Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, RO.
Dissertation advisor: Prof. Zoltán Néda.
Research: Synchronization and physics of rhythmic applause.
Defence: July 1999.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
- 08/2015 – present, Assistant Professor, College of Wooster, Wooster, OH
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program
Class: Introduction to Independent Study
Biology Department Classes:- Cell Physiology (BIOL305; 1 semester)
- Cell Physiology Lab (BIOL305L; 1 semester)
- Gateway to Molecular and Cellular Biology (BIOL201; 1 semester)
- Gateway to Molecular & Cellular Biology Lab (BIOL201L; 2 semesters)
- Foundations of Biology (BIOL111; 1 semester)
- 01/2012 – 06/2012, Teaching faculty,
Physics Department, Northeastern University, Boston, MA
Class: Interactive Learning Seminar for Physics 101 (undergraduate) - 03/2010 – 06/2010, Course leader and teaching faculty,
Center for Vascular Biology Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Class: The complexity of cellular networks (for postdocs and faculty) - 10/1999 – 12/2000, Graduate Teaching Assistant,
Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, RO.
Class: Problem-solving tutorial in Quantum Mechanics I, physics majors.
Teaching faculty: Zoltán Gábos. - 10/1998 – 02/1999, Undergraduate Teaching Assistant,
Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, RO.
Class: Problem-solving tutorial in Quantum Mechanics I, physics majors.
Teaching faculty: Zoltán Néda. - 02/1998 – 06/1998, Undergraduate Teaching Assistant,
Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, RO.
Class: Problem-solving tutorial in Quantum Mechanics, mathematics-physics double majors.
Teaching faculty: Zoltán Néda.
MENTORING EXPERIENCE
- 2010 – 2013, Mentor for the NetSci High Program
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Program: Educational outreach program to introduce the science of networks to high school students. - NetSci High 2012
- Team of 4 high school students, Boston University Academy
- Objective: model the influence of external inputs on the energy landscape of small regulatory networks (weekly meetings).
- NetSci High 2011 (Pilot)
- One high school student (ML Cerulli), Winsor High School
- Objective: map the phenotypic heterogeneity of endothelial cells in distinct segments of the kidney vasculature (weekly meetings).
- 2012 – present, Mentor for the Research Science Institute (RSI)
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Program: Summer science and engineering program to combine theory course work and research (Center for Excellence in Education, hosted by MIT).
RSI 2012- One high school student, “Dr. Petar Beron” High School of Mathematics
- Objective: develop energy landscape visualization for Boolean regulatory network state transition graphs (daily meetings).
- 2011 – present, Mentor for the Center for Vascular Biology Summer Student Research Program
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Program: enable advanced high school students and college undergraduates to conduct supervised research with a HMS faculty mentor.
CVBR Summer Student Research Program 2012- One high school student, Winsor High School (volunteer)
- Objective: build an agent-based model of spatial patterns in heterogeneous vWF expression, observed in the mouse aorta (daily meetings).
CVBR Summer Student Research Program 2011
- One undergraduate student, University of Massachusetts (paid)
- Objective: develop a sampling algorithm of the state space of large Boo- lean regulatory networks (1-2 meetings/week).
- 6/2011 – 6/2012, Mentor for High school Research Volunteer
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA- One high school student, Winsor High School (volunteer)
- Objective: assemble a Boolean network model of angiogenic pattern formation (weekly meetings for 3 semesters; daily meetings during 1 month of her full-time Independent Learning Experience internship).
- 2006, Host for Center for Nonlinear Studies Visiting Students
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM- One undergraduate student, Babes-Bolyai University (paid)
- One graduate student, University of Notre Dame (paid)
AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS
- 2012, Best Participation Award at Data and Journal Club, Center for Vascular Biology Reseach, Boston, MA
- 2005, Alumni Association Research Award, University of Notre Dame Graduate School, Notre Dame, IN.
Advisor: Albert-László Barabási. - 2004, Director Funded Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (two years), Los Alamos, NM.
- 2000, Fisher Fellowship for graduate studies in Physics at the University of Notre Dame (two years), Notre Dame, IN.
Advisor: Albert-László Barabási. - 2000, Research scholarship from the University of Notre Dame (two months), at the Eötvös Lóránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
Advisor: Albert-László Barabási. - 1999, SOCRATES-ERASMUS scholarship for 3 months to study and engage in research at the INPG, ENSEEG-LTPCM, Grenoble, France.
Advisor: Yves Brechet. - 1998, Research scholarship at the KFKI (two months), RMKI-ELFO, Budapest, Hungary.
Advisor: Tamás Bíró. - 1999, Performance research scholarship of the Babes Bolyai University (one year).
- 1998, Scientific Conference for Transylvanian Students, Cluj Napoca, 1st prize.
- 1996, Ortvay Rudolf Problem Solving Competition, Hungary, 2nd prize.
- 1995, Selection for the Large Olympic Team (8th) at the National Physics High-school Olympiad.
CONFERENCES AND PRESENTATIONS
- Institute for Advanced Study, Center for Systems Biology (job interview talk), December 21, 2005, Princeton, NJ.
Invited Speaker: Networks in Protein Folding. - Harvard Medical School, Division of Molecular and Vascular Medicine (job interview talk), November 22, 2005, Boston, MA.
Invited Speaker: Networks in Protein Folding. - Los Alamos National Laboratory, Center for Nonlinear Studies, September 1, 2005, Los Alamos, NM.
Seminar: Protein folding networks. - News, Expectations and Trends in Statistical Physics, 3rd Next Sigma-Phy International Conference, August 13 – 18, 2005, Kolymbari, Crete, Greece.
Invited speaker: Hierarchical Modularity in Complex Networks. - Collectives formation and specialization in biological and social systems, April 20- 22, 2005, Santa Fe, NM.
- School and Workshop on Structure and Function of Complex Networks, May 16 – 28, 2005, Abdus Salam ICTP, Trieste, Italy.
- Los Alamos National Laboratory – Arizona Days 2005, January 28 – 29, 2005, Tucson, AZ.
Invited speaker: Hierarchical Modularity in Metabolic Networks. - Brookhaven National Laboratory, Condensed Matter Physics Seminar (Job interview talk), February 5, 2005, Upton, NY.
Invited speaker: Hierarchical Modularity in Complex Networks. - Los Alamos National Laboratory, Center for Nonlinear Studies Seminar (Job interview talk), November 8, 2004, Los Alamos, NM.
Invited speaker: Hierarchical Modularity in Complex Networks. - 23rd Annual Conference on Networks: Structure, Dynamics and Function, May 12 – 16, 2003, Santa Fe, NM.
Poster: Hierarchical Organization of Complex Networks. - Indiana Biocomplexity Symposium, April 22 – 23, 2003, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN.
Poster: Hierarchical Modularity of Metabolic Networks. - Genomic Approaches to Transcriptional Regulation, March 6 – 9, 2003, Cold Spring Harbor, NY.
- 15th International Symposium on Mathematical Theory of Networks and Systems, August 12 – 16, 2002, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN.
- Meeting of the American Physical Society, March 18 – 22, 2002, Indianapolis, IN.
Presentation: Evolution of the social network of scientific collaborations. - International Workshop on Scaling and Phase Transitions in Complex Networks, February 18 – 22, 2002, Pohang, Korea.
- 2nd Workshop on Computation of Biochemical Pathways and Genetic Networks, June 21 – 22, 2001, Villa Bosch, Heidelberg, Germany.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
- Referee for Physical Review E, European Physical Journal B, Bioinformatics, Journal of Biological Systems, Biophysical Journal, FEBS Letters.
- Editor for Zoltán Gábos, Statisztikus fizika, Erdélyi Múzeum Egyesület, Cluj Napoca, 1999.
- Echoes of my research in the media (The Rhythmic Applause)
- Physical Review Focus: Applause Physics, 2000 (http://focus.aps.org/story/v5/st27).
- ABC News: Great Moments in Science – Paws for Applause, 2003 (http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s114463.htm).
- Discovery.com News: Synchronized Clapping a Primal Desire? 2000.
- FoxNews: Roar of the crowd shows social organization, 2000.
- Complexity Digest: The Sound Of Many Hands Clapping, 2000 (http://comdig2.de/test/index.php?makeframe=topic.php%3Fid_article%3D404).
- South Bend Tribune: Study: U.S. out of sync with European applause, 2000.
- Summer Student Advisor of Andrea Asztalos (graduate student at University of Notre Dame, IN), July – August, 2005, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM.
Research topic: Modeling information processing in gene regulatory networks.