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Steven J. Cox
Professor
Professor of Computational and Applied
Mathematics
e-mail:[email protected]
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Ph.D. (1988) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
M.S. (1983) Marquette University
B.S. (1982) Marquette University
Primary Department
Department of Computational and Applied Mathematics
Department Affiliations
 Cognitive Sciences Program
 Ken Kennedy Institute for Information Technology
 Neuroscience Program
Websites
Home Page
Research Areas
Biomathematics
Inverse and Design Problems in Computational Biology
Develop tools and models to discern constitutive behavior from indirect measurements, e.g.,
ion channel kinetics and distribution from multisite electrode recordings, and to optimally
design
biochemical networks, e.g., engineer E. coli to
thrive in a semiaerobic milieu and so deliver the most of a desired waste product.
Neuronal Calcium Imaging
We characterize rat hippocampal pyramidal cells from calcium data recorded in brain slice.
More precisely, from the full space-time calcium fluorescence response to localized stimuli we
infer the type and distibution of calcium handling machinery exhibited by the cell. This is a
crucial step in mapping the input-output function of single cells.
Neuronal Network Modeling
We build large scale models of the
full rat hippocampus. Our individual cell models span the complexity spectrum from fully
branched to integrate-and-fire. We develop and apply novel learning rules to biologically
constrained input in an attempt to understand spatial navigation and episodic memory - 2
tasks that rely heavily on the hippocampus.
Neuronal Network Modeling
We build large scale models of the
full rat hippocampus. Our individual cell models span the complexity spectrum from fully
branched to integrate-and-fire. We develop and apply novel learning rules to biologically
constrained input in an attempt to understand spatial navigation and episodic memory - 2
tasks that rely heavily on the hippocampus.
Design and Identification of Damped Wound Strings
We develop and test models for damped wound strings with the goal of developing and
analytical and numerical framework for the rational design of such continua.
Control of Metabolism
We develop and test both steady state and kinetic models of the role of oxygen in E. coli
metabolism
with the goal of increasing the efficiency of desirable waste products.
Synaptic Plasticity
I pursue theories, models, and experiments pertaining to how the brain rewires itself as a
function of its own activity.
Metabolic Control
I tie theory to experiment in the development of methods and models for linking transcription
factors to genes to metabolites.
Design and Identification of Damped Wound Strings
We develop and test models for damped wound strings with the goal of developing and
analytical and numerical framework for the rational design of such continua.
Control of Metabolism
We develop and test both steady state and kinetic models of the role of oxygen in E. coli
metabolism
with the goal of increasing the efficiency of desirable waste products.
Neuronal Calcium Imaging
We characterize rat hippocampal pyramidal cells from calcium data recorded in brain slice.
More precisely, from the full space-time calcium fluorescence response to localized stimuli we
infer the type and distibution of calcium handling machinery exhibited by the cell. This is a
crucial step in mapping the input-output function of single cells.
Selected Publications
Refereed articles
(with M Whaley, C Kadipasaoglu and N Tandon) "Modulation of Orthographic Decoding by
Frontal Cortex." The Journal of Neuroscience (2015) In Press
(with K Hedrick) Morphological Reduction of Dendritic Neurons, in The Computing
Dendrite, M Remme ed., Springer, 2014.
(with B Du and D Sorensen) Model reduction of strong-weak neurons, Frontiers in
Computational Neuroscience, doi: 10.3389/fncom.2014.00164, 2014.
(with J Raol) Inverse problems in neuronal calcium signaling. J Math. Biology,
DOI:10.1007/s00285-012-0507-z, 2012.
(with K Hedrick) Structure-preserving model reduction of passive and quasi-active
neurons, J Comput Neurosci, DOI:10.1007/s10827-012-0403-y, 2012.
Editorial Positions
Associate Editor, Mathematical Medicine and Biology. (2006 - 2006)
Associate Editor, Mathematical Medicine and Biology. (2005 - 2005)
Associate Editor, Inverse Problems. (2005 - 2005)
Associate Editor, Inverse Problems. (2006 - 2006)
Supervised Theses & Dissertations
Kathryn Ruth Hedrick, Ph.D. The Neural Computations in Spatial Memory From Single Cells to
Networks. (2012) (Thesis or Dissertation Director)
Meagan Whaley, M.A. Dynamics of Brain Networks During Reading. (Thesis or Dissertation
Director)
Meagan Whaley, M.A. Applying the Short-Time Direct Directed Transfer Function to Human
Electrocorticographic Recordings from a Language Task. (Thesis or Dissertation Director)
Positions Held
Adjunct Professor, Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine. (2004 - 2013)