Anat Burger

Anat Burger is an Assistant Professor of Physics at Loyola University New Orleans, joining in Fall 2019. Her research focuses on the intersection of physics, biology, mathematics, and computer science, specializing in modeling stochastic noise in biological systems, particularly transcriptional regulation of gene networks. She holds a BS in Physics from MIT and a PhD in Physics from UC San Diego, followed by postdoctoral research at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School. Her work includes collaborations with experimentalists to analyze biological systems such as germline stem cell aging in flies and transcriptional regulation in worm embryos, as well as computational radiation oncology modeling for lung tumor treatments.

Education:

• Bachelor of Science in Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• PhD in Physics, University of California, San Diego

Research interests span theoretical biological physics, computational systems biology, bioinformatics, and computational radiation oncology. Her work bridges stochastic processes and gene network dynamics, employing computational models to understand biological systems at molecular and systems levels.

Publications highlight her contributions to understanding transcriptional regulation mechanisms and stochastic noise in gene expression, with recent work including studies on RNA polymerase II recruitment and decoy effects in gene networks. She has also contributed to discrete kinetic models and protein folding rate predictions using advanced simulation techniques.

Teaching includes courses ranging from introductory physics to advanced topics such as quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, and electromagnetism. Her academic journey includes visiting professorships at Salem State University, Mount Holyoke College, and Simmons University prior to Loyola.