Javier Buceta

I have a demonstrated experience in Biological-related problems using System approaches. As a PhD I worked on Statistical Physics approaches to understand the role of stochasticity in the collective behavior of agents, including patterning processes. As a postdoctoral researcher I applied such knowledge to different biologically related problems including population dynamics and zoonotic diseases (Hanta virus spreading), and explored the interplay with environmental factors (seasonality), fluctuations, and habitat size. As for my contributions in that field, I presented my research in different conferences including, as invited speaker, the meeting on “Population Dynamics in Biology: Epidemics, Bacteria, Vegetation, and Sundries” (Albuquerque NM, 2002) and our research has been cited by key references in the field of Infectious Disease Modeling, e.g. J. Buceta et al, OUTBREAKS OF HANTAVIRUS INDUCED BY SEASONALITY, Phys. Rev. E 69, 2004. I was later awarded, during a second postdoctoral period, by La Jolla Interfaces in Science Program (Burroughs Wellcome Fund) to conduct research on the interface between Biophysics and Developmental Biology. I have continued working of those topics as a PI. Back in Spain, as PI in the Barcelona Science Park. In fall 2014 I moved back to the US and joined Lehigh University through the Bioengineering Program as an Associate Professor to continue my research on System Biology. In 2020 I was recruited as a group leader by a new research institute of the Spanish National Research Council: The Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio). Our work in different areas have captured the attention of media in different occasions. Recent examples are the New Yorker (https://www.newyorker.com/science/lab-notes/we-are-all-scutoids-a-brand-new-shape-explained) or, in the context of our NIH work in zoonotic diseases NOVA@PBS (https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/migratory-bats-track-ebola/). My methodological approaches have always included the development of efficient predictive computational tools and modeling techniques. Thus, my past experience on the topic and my professional trajectory in the field of Systems Biology, Stochastic Methods, Computational/Theoretical Epidemiology, Computer Science, and Statistical Physics satisfy the required expertise and multidisciplinary background to tackle the problem of understanding the dynamics of the zoonotic niche of Ebola at the role played by fluctuations/variability. As for my leadership role, I have been the sole PI of a number of research projects in Europe and co-PI in others, organized national and international conferences and meetings, and I have been member in policy-making institutions such the direction board of the Royal Spanish Society of Physics.