Elhanan Borenstein

Assistant Professor of Genome Sciences
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Computer Science
External Professor, The Santa Fe Institute

phone: (206) 685-8165 | fax: (206) 685-7301
Foege S-103B, Box 355065
elbo [ a t ] u.washington.edu
website

Research:

Borenstein’s lab focuses on computational research in Evolutionary Systems Biology - an emerging field that examines the interplay between the evolutionary process and the organization of complex biological systems, with an eye to expanding fundamental theories in evolutionary dynamics, systems biology, and ecology.

Specific research themes include:

  1. Large scale computational analysis of complex biological networks and their evolution (with an emphasis on metabolic networks)
  2. Metabolic interactions, community structure and systems biology of microbial communities (and specifically the human microbiome) and analysis of metagenomic data
  3. Modularity, robustness, evolvability, and assembly rules of biological systems
  4. Theory of systems biology , population genetics, and evolutionary theory

Research in the lab is multidisciplinary in nature and spans several levels of abstraction, ranging from state of the art computational analysis of complex networks and high-throughput data to theoretical studies of mathematical and computational models.

Selected Publications:

Borenstein E and Feldman MW (2009) Topological Signatures of Species Interactions in Metabolic Networks. Journal of Computational Biology, 16(2), 191-200.

Borenstein E and Krakauer DC (2008) An End to Endless Forms: Epistasis, Phenotype Distribution Bias, and Non-Uniform Evolution. PLoS Computational Biology, 4(10).

Borenstein E, Kupiec M, Feldman MW and Ruppin E (2008) Large-Scale Reconstruction and Phylogenetic Analysis of Metabolic Environments. PNAS (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA), 105(38), 14482-14487.

Kreimer A*, Borenstein E*, Gophna U and Ruppin E [*equal contribution] (2008) The Evolution of Modularity in Bacterial Metabolic Networks. PNAS (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA), 105(19), 6976-6981.

Borenstein E, Feldman MW and Aoki K (2008) Evolution of Learning in Fluctuating Environments: When Selection Favors Both Individual and Social Learning. Evolution, 62 (3), 586-602.

Borenstein E*, Shlomi T*, Ruppin E, and Sharan R [*equal contribution] (2007) Gene Loss Rate: A Probabilistic Measure for the Conservation of Eukaryotic Genes. Nucleic Acids Research, 35(1), e7.

Borenstein E and Ruppin E (2006) Direct Evolution of Genetic Robustness in MicroRNA. PNAS (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA), 103(17), 6593-6598.

Borenstein E, Meilijson I and Ruppin E (2006) The Effect of Phenotypic Plasticity on Evolution in Multipeaked Fitness Landscapes. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 19(5), 1555-1570.

Borenstein E, Kendal J and M. Feldman (2006) Cultural Niche Construction in a Metapopulation. Theoretical Population Biology, 70(1), 92-104.

additional publication listings available via PubMed