Dynamics Club
Launched in 2022, Dynamics Club is a UCLA-based forum for junior scientists to discuss nonlinear dynamics in biology and physiology. Starting from 2024, this is also the home for the Interoception Dynamics Affinity Group.
Our monthly seminars are mostly on Zoom, with hybrid access to in-person events. Campus visits are made possible by the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology (IBP), Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences (QCBio) and Brain Research Institute (BRI).
Currently, we have 336 members. If you’re new, sign up here!
Job opportunities:
- A PhD position is available with Dr. Eder Zavala at University of Manchester (Details)
- A postdoctoral position is available with Dr. Eder Zavala at University of Manchester (Details)
- A postdoctoral position is available with Dr. Natalie Porat-Shliom at NIH/NCI (Microscopy)
- A postdoctoral position is available with Dr. Paul François at Université de Montréal (Details)
Key References (PDFs are available online):
Modeling Life by Alan Garfinkel, Jane Shetsov and Yina Guo (Teaching Materials)
Dynamics Club in April (LNE Seminar):
A tale of two signals: leveraging small but persistent differences for detection in human health
Speaker: Benjamin Smarr, PhD (Assistant Professor; UCSD)
Date and Time: April 10 (Friday) at 12am Pacific Time / 3pm Eastern Time
In-person Event: Terasaki life Science Building 1100
Abstract:
HealthAI continues to expand, dominated by image or omics analysis. But millions of people generate continuous data on their physiology and behavior through apps and wearables outside the clinic. At the Smarr Lab, we imagine a future where such “digital trails” are ubiquitous, and design analytics to turn those signals into actionable health insights. In this talk I focus on two recent publications in which the uniting theme is identifying individuals at risk for low-amplitude but chronic health challenges through subtle but persistent aberrations in their physiology only visible through long-term recordings.
Scheduled Sessions:
| Date | Topic | Speaker(s) |
| Jun | Epinephrine oscillation enhances the alertness of target cells to stress | Dr. Mark Greenwood (Whitehead Institute) |
| Aug | Microglia coordinate activity-dependent protein synthesis in neurons through metabolic coupling | Drew Adler (NYU) |
| 2026 | Neurophysiological principles of reward | Dr. Annie Park (Oxford University) |
| 2026 | How Neural Heterogeneity Controls Network Function | Dr. Megan Kirchgessner (NYU) |
Past Events in 2026:
| Date | Topic | Speaker(s) | Materials |
| Jan 20 | Microdomain Metabolism in Pacemaker Myocytes: The Ca2+ Clock Drives the ATP Clock | Dr. Manuel Munoz Camus (UC Davis) | Pubmed |
| Feb 13 | Pulsed stimuli enable p53 phase resetting to synchronize single cells and modulate cell fate | Dr. Harish Venkatachalapathy (UMN) | Pubmed |
| Mar 6 | Pulsed stimuli enable p53 phase resetting to synchronize single cells and modulate cell fate | Dr. Richard Gast (Scripps Research) | Pubmed |
Past Events in 2025
Past Events in 2024
Past Events in 2023
Past Events in 2022