05-07

Henri Schmidt FPO

Henri Schmidt will present his FPO "Inferring cellular phylogenies using optimization” on Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 10:00 AM in CS 402 & Zoom.

Zoom Link: https://princeton.zoom.us/j/96596939884?pwd=5CUR2k2e3ZiTqPanKlFC35YlYMky5l.1

The members of Henri’s committee are as follows:
Examiners: Ben Raphael (Adviser), Yuri Pritykin, Pravesh Kothari
Readers: Olga Troyanskaya, Mohammed El-Kebir (UIUC)

A copy of his thesis is available upon request.  Please email gradinfo@cs.princeton.edu if you would like a copy of the thesis. 

Everyone is invited to attend the talk. 

Abstract follows below:

Reconstructing the phylogenetic tree of cells is a central challenge in developmental and cancer biology. Advances in sequencing and experimental design have brought this goal within reach, producing high-resolution single-cell measurements that enable phylogenetic reconstruction. However, phylogenetic reconstruction from such measurements is difficult and requires phylogenetic models that balance biological plausibility and computational tractability.

We present a collection of research whose goal is, broadly, to design tractable phylogenetic models along with efficient algorithms to reconstruct phylogenetic trees. In particular, we adapt modern tools and techniques from combinatorial and convex optimization to the phylogenetic setting, leading to highly efficient and accurate algorithms for large-scale phylogenetic inference.