Computational Modeling of Feedback Regulation in Synthetic Circuits

Wednesday, April 8, 2026

2:30 PM-4:00 PM

BIOMED Seminar

Title:
Computational Modeling of Feedback Regulation in Synthetic Circuits

Speaker:
Ania-Ariadna Baetica, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics (MEM)
College of Engineering
Drexel University

Details:
Biological systems maintain homeostasis through feedback regulation, yet the quantitative principles that determine when such regulation remains effective are not fully understood. Our research developed quantitative frameworks to analyze how feedback control  shapes cellular behavior in dynamic biological systems, particularly in settings where molecular components are continuously produced, degraded, and redistributed. 

This work addressed  fundamental questions in systems biology by identifying how feedback architectures influence adaptation and the preservation of system outputs under perturbation. Using sensitivity analysis, we quantified how variation in molecular processes of production, degradation, and binding rates, alters cellular dynamics. Together, these results provide predictive strategies for interpreting regulation in living systems and for understanding how cells maintain homeostasis as internal conditions vary.

Biosketch:
Ania-Ariadna Baetica, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics (MEM) and an affiliate faculty member of the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems at Drexel University. Dr. Baetica received her BA degree from Princeton University in 2012 and her PhD from California Institute of Technology in 2018. After receiving her doctoral degree, she was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California at San Francisco. 

Dr. Baetica has also been serving on the Council and Membership Committee of the Engineering Biology Research Consortium since 2025. She has been leading her BioControl research group at Drexel University since 2023. Her research program focuses on two directions: one studies how feedback shapes the behavior of synthetic gene circuits using mechanistic modeling, and the other uses single-cell and immune profiling data to understand what drives long-term persistence and cytotoxicity of T cells in order to improve immunotherapies.

Contact Information

Carolyn Riley
cr63@drexel.edu