Systems Biology is the study of an organism’s physiology as an integrated network of genes, proteins and other molecules linked by the biochemical reactions taking place within, and between, cells.

Rather than studying individual genes or proteins, Systems Biologists work with experimentalists to mathematically model the function of the biochemical pathways in which these molecules interact.

My research with the University of Melbourne’s Systems Biology Laboratory involves the application of statistical and information-theoretic methods to understand the mechanisms underlying the transcriptional regulation of gene expression. This is accomplished by the integration and inference of epigenetic, gene expression and nuclear structural data.

The CSIRO/Saber Astronautics Gliders2013 RoboCup team has a strong history in the 2D simulation league. Gliders placed overall fifth and fourth in RoboCup 2013 (Eindhoven) and 2012 (Mexico City) respectively, and second in the 2012 Dutch Open.

During my 2012-13 research internship with the CSIRO Adaptive Systems group (Sydney), I was responsible for redesigning the Gliders2013 self-localisation system to implement an improved particle filter framework. The resultant filter yielded a 38.2 to 201.3% improvement in localisation performance.

The CSIRO Adaptive Systems group has a strong focus on quantifying information flow in complex systems. Many of their information dynamics frameworks have found new applications in my systems biology research at the University of Melbourne.

The University of Newcastle’s robot soccer competition team – The NUbots – has participated at RoboCup regularly since 2002. The NUbots competed in the RoboCup Four-Legged League 2002-2007 using Sony AIBO robots and won the world title at RoboCup 2006 in Bremen, Germany. They were placed second at the world cups in 2005 and 2007, and third in 2004, 2003, and 2002. In 2008, the NUbots won the world title again in the RoboCup Standard Platform League (SPL) using Nao robots as part of the NUManoid team. The NUbots are the 2011 Australian champions in the RoboCup Standard Platform League, and as of 2013 participate in the RoboCup Kid-Sized Humanoid League using the Robotis DARwIn-OP platform.

During my three years as a member of the NUbots team, my research focused on the areas of computer vision, bipedal locomotion, machine learning and optimisation. To check out the current progress of the NUbots team, please check out their 2014 Team Description Paper.