| The main subject of research presented in this Doctoral Thesis is protein evolution, in particular mathematical modeling approaches. These design methods have direct relevance for the broad field of Bioengineering, involving design of better vaccines for influenza and improvement of directed evolution techniques for engineering antibodies.; An additional topic, within the framework of a Nanobiology Training Program fellowship sponsored by NIH and the Gulf Coast Consortia, is a collaborative project with the laboratory of Dr. Michael Wong, from the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department at Rice University. In particular, mathematical models to describe diffusive release in self-assembled, nanostructured microcapsules are presented. |
