May 23, 2023
Title: A topological data analysis approach to coronavirus evolution
Speaker: Andreas Ott (Karlsruhe)
Topological data analysis is a burgeoning field of research that uses methods from topology and geometry to infer qualitative properties of complex datasets by analyzing their shape. In this talk, I will present an application of topological data analysis to the surveillance of critical mutations in the evolution of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. I will explain the underlying geometric idea, how it connects with biology, its implementation in the CoVtRec pipeline, and some concrete results from the analysis of current pandemic data. This is joint work with Bauer, Bleher, Carrière, Hahn, Neumann, Patiño-Galindo, Rabadán, and the KIT Steinbuch Centre for Computing.