Réka Albert
Mailing Address:
104 Davey Lab, Box # 261, University Park, PA 16802
Education
Ph.D. University of Notre Dame (2001)
M.S. Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania (1996)
B.S. Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania (1995)
Honors and Awards
Member of the National Academy of Sciences (2025).
Eberly College of Science Distinguished Mentoring Award (2024).
Outstanding Referee of the American Physical Society (2019).
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2019).
Fellow of the Network Science Society (2018).
External member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (2016).
Distinguished Graduate Alumna of the University of Notre Dame (2016).
Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award of the American Physical Society (2011).
Fellow of the American Physical Society (2009).
Research Interests
Prof. Albert’s research seeks to uncover the mechanisms that determine the dynamic repertoire of complex networks, with a particular emphasis on biological networks. She was among the pioneers of logical (Boolean) modeling of biological systems.Her group’s models yield both specific biological predictions as well as general insights into the structural basis of dynamic outcomes. In collaborative projects with wet-bench biologists and clinicians, she has proposed network control interventions to mitigate the effect of dysregulations in biological systems. These interventions have been validated across diverse contexts, including signal transduction networks in plant and human cells and the immune response to pathogens. Prof. Albert’s current research puts equal focus on predictive modeling of biological networks and on advancing the methodologies used to construct and analyze logical models.
Selected Publications
Full list of publications on Google Scholar
K.H. Park, J.C. Rozum, R. Albert, Automated model refinement using perturbation-observation pairs, npj Systems Biology and Applications 11 (1), 65 (2025).
J. C. Rozum, D. Deritei, K. H. Park, J. G. T. Zañudo, R. Albert, pystablemotifs: Python library for attractor identification and control in Boolean networks, Bioinformatics 38 (5), 1465-1466 (2022).
J. C. Rozum, J. G. T. Zañudo, X. Gan, D. Deritei, R. Albert, Parity and time reversal elucidate both decision-making in empirical models and attractor scaling in critical Boolean networks, Science Advances 7 (29), eabf8124 (2021).
J. G.T. Zañudo, M. Scaltriti, R. Albert, A network modeling approach to elucidate drug resistance mechanisms and predict combinatorial drug treatments in breast cancer, Cancer Convergence 1:5 (2017).
R. Albert, B.R. Acharya, B.W. Jeon, J.G.T. Zañudo, M. Zhu, K. Osman, S. M. Assmann, A new discrete dynamic model of ABA-induced stomatal closure predicts key feedback loops, PLoS Biology 15 (9), e2003451 (2017).
SN Steinway, JGT Zañudo, PJ Michel, DJ Feith, TP Loughran, R Albert, Combinatorial interventions inhibit TGFbeta-driven epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and support hybrid cellular phenotypes, NPJ Systems Biology and Applications 1, 15014 (2015).
JGT Zañudo, R Albert, Cell fate reprogramming by control of intracellular network dynamics, PLoS Computational Biology 11 (4), e1004193 (2015).
Z Sun, X Jin, R Albert, SM Assmann, Multi-level modeling of light-induced stomatal opening offers new insights into its regulation by drought, PLoS Computational Biology 10 (11), e1003930 (2014).
A. Saadatpour, R. Albert, Boolean modeling of biological regulatory networks: A methodology tutorial, Methods 62, 3-12 (2013).
R. S. Wang, A. Saadatpour, R. Albert, Boolean modeling in systems biology: an overview of methodology and applications, Physical Biology 9, 055001 (2012).
J. Thakar, A.K. Pathak, L. Murphy, R. Albert, I.M. Cattadori, Network Model of Immune Responses Reveals Key Effectors to Single and Co-infection Dynamics by a Respiratory Bacterium and a Gastrointestinal Helminth, PLoS Computational Biology 8:e1002345 (2012).
C. Campell, S. Yang, R. Albert and K. Shea. A network model for plant–pollinator community assembly. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108 (1), 197-202.