Dr. Francis Motta

francis

Assistant Professor
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Email: fmotta@fau.edu

 

 

Education

Ph.D. in Mathematics, Colorado State University, 2014

Research Interests

Topological Data Analysis

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

Dynamical Systems

Mathematical Biology

Research Description

I am a mathematician specializing in topological data analysis (TDA), dynamical systems, and mathematical biology. I am interested in every aspect of the expansion of the applicability of TDA to existing machine learning & statistical modeling approaches, especially those concerned with the analysis of data derived from spatiotemporal systems. I thrive on interdisciplinary collaboration & I am involved in both the design, implementation, & application of novel computational data analysis methods to solve problems from multiple scientific domains including synthetic and systems biology, condensed matter physics, and neuroscience. Currently my work involves 1) using topological methods together with machine learning tools to understand principles of protein stability, and 2) modelling the dynamics of host-parasite interactions of Plasmodium, to understand genetic regulatory networks in the causative agent of malaria. 

 

Recent Publications

  • Quantitative Analysis of Attractors in Finite-Dimensional Approximations of State-Dependent Delay Differential Equations (Read Here)
  • Assessment of Simulated Surveillance Testing and Quarantine in a SARS-CoV-2 Vaccinated Population of Students on a University Campus - JAMA HEALTH FORUM - Oct. 2021 (Read Here)
  • Improved Data Sets and Evaluation Methods for the Automatic Prediction of DNA-Binding Proteins - BIOINFORMATICS - Aug. 2021 (Read Here)
  • Inference of Gene Regulatory Network Uncovers the Linkage Between Circadian Clock and Crassulacean Acid Metabolism in Kalanchoë fedtschenkoi - CELLS - Aug. 2021 (Read Here)
  • Critical and Ictal Phases in Simulated EEG Signals on a Small-World Network - FRONTIERS IN COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE - Jan. 2021 (Read Here)
  • An Intrinsic Oscillator Drives the Blood Stage Cycle of the Malaria Parasite, Plasmodium falciparum - SCIENCE - May, 2020 (Read Here)
  • Hyperparameter Optimization of Topological Features for Machine Learning Applications - IEEE ICMLA - Feb. 2020 (Read Here)
  • Persistence Images: A Stable Vector Representation of Persistent Homology - JOURNAL OF MACHINE LEARNING RESEARCH - Feb. 2017 (Read Here)
  • Layers of regulation on cell-cycle gene expression in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae - MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL - Sep. 2018 (Read Here)
  • Reconciling Conflicting Models for Global Control of Cell-Cycle Transcription - CELL CYCLE - Sep. 2017 (Read Here)
  • Conservation and Diversification of Circadian Rhythmicity Between a Model Crassulacean Acid Metabolism Plant Kalanchoë fedtschenkoi and a model 𝐶3 Photosynthesis Plant Arabidopsis thaliana - FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE - Nov. 2018 (Read Here)
  • Informing the Structure of Complex Hadamard Matrix Spaces Using a Flow - DISCRETE & CONTINUOUS DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS – S - Dec. 2019 (Read Here)