Kathleen Sprouffske

I'm Kathleen Sprouffske, a PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania in the Genomics and Computational Biology program. I am studying the dynamics of cancer progression.

Here's my brand new webpage

My email address is sprouffk@deleteme.mail.med.upenn.edu

Also, I'm planning to get a bicycle to ride around while I am in Santa Fe from this cool bike collective place called Chain Breaker. Their website is under maintenance right now, but here's some info on them. I want to get there Monday or Wednesday the first week there. Anyone else interested in joining me is welcome!

Answers to Dan's Questions follow:

What are your main interests? Feel free to include a "pie in the sky" big idea!

I am interested in using the tools of evolution and ecology to study the dynamics of cancer development and progression. I've recently been thinking lots about how cooperation and cheating play a part in tumorigenesis.

That is what I do officially, but I find so many things fascinating. I was way interested in philosophy & and the social sciences, but never did anything more than read a couple of things and hang out with philosophers & social scientists. I would love to learn more!

What sorts of expertise can you bring to the group?

I have a decent knowledge of the cancer literature and the relevant ideas from evolution. More practically, I can program in a number of languages, including perl, python, R, Objective C, and java. I definitely prefer object-oriented approaches. Also, I have created agent-based models using NetLogo and Swarm. Finally, I am an expert question-asker.

What do you hope to get out of the CSSS?

I have limited exposure to the formal theory behind complex systems, including nonlinear dynamics, and am really looking forward to learning that. My math skills are a little rusty, so I'm looking forward to getting them back in practice again. But really, I am very excited to meet and learn from everyone at the program. A whole bunch of interdisciplinary folks interested in complex systems?? I can't wait to meet you all.

Do you have any possible projects in mind for the CSSS?

1. I'm interested in thinking about how to integrate experimental biology with model-building in a lovely synthesis. I've been thinking about cooperation and cheating recently, and would love to model it, but under potentially testable conditions. Ideas???!
2. It would be fun to learn about another system - I'm up for working on interesting new projects of the biological or social sciences nature - especially if they include ideas of cooperation.