Ludovica Cotta-Ramusino

photo Ludovica IMA Postdoctoral Fellow

Publications Curriculum

Education
December 2007 PhD in Applied Mathematics, Laboratory for Computation and Visualization in Mathematics and Mechanics, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH
October 2004 MPhil in Cosmology, Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, UK
March 2002 Laurea in Physics, Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano, IT
Research
My current research interest focuses on mathematical modelling for biology, a research field at the frontier between mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology. In particular, my experience is in the field of theoretical and mathematical models for DNA. I have been working on a path integral formalism to evaluate in an efficient way DNA looping probability densities when DNA is described via a continuum elastic rod model. DNA looping is a simple and effective mechanisms characterizing and essential to many cellular processes such as transcription and replication.

Previously, I have been working on the cosmological implications of brane-world models, in which our Universe is assumed to be a four dimensional membrane embedded in a higher dimensional spacetime.

Teaching
2003 - 2007 Linear algebra, I yr students in Computer Science and Engineering
2006 Mathematical Modelling of DNA, graduate students in Mathematics and Computer Science
2007 Analysis II, I yr students in Microengineering

IMA, University of Minnesota
114 Lind Hall
207 Church St. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55403
Phone: +1 612 626 0005
Fax: +1 612 626 7370
E-mail: cottaram (at) ima (dot) umn (dot) edu
Minneapolis, Febrauary 2008