Pappalardo Fellows

KIRILL KOROLEV
Pappalardo Fellow in Physics: 2010-2013

Area of Physics:

Biophysics
Statistical physics of evolution

Research Interests

Kirill Korolev is interested in how non-trivial collective behaviors of a complex system emerge from the interactions of its components. This fascinating question is central to a wide variety of fields including nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, soft condensed matter physics, biophysics, ecology, and evolutionary dynamics.

In particular, he wants to understand what determines the time scale of evolutionary change. Although the major evolutionary forces are well known, it is not fully understood how they act together to explain how long it takes for specific traits to evolve. Korolev's research focuses on the role of fluctuations and spatial degrees of freedom (spatial structure) in evolution. He is also interested in evolutionary experiments with microbes.

Biographical Sketch

Kirill Korolev completed his Ph.D. at Harvard University under the guidance of David R. Nelson. His work focused on the statistical physics of topological emulsions and expanding populations. Before coming to the United States, Korolev earned his B.S. in applied physics and applied mathematics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in 2005. His undergraduate thesis on the physics of high-temperature superconductors was supervised by L. S. Uspenskaya at the Insitute of Solid State Physics (Chernogolovka).

Selected Publications

• Lei Dai, Daan Vorselen, K.S. Korolev, Jeff Gore, Generic indicators for loss of resilience before tipping point leading to population collapse, Science 336, 1175 (2012).

• K.S. Korolev, Melanie J. I. Muller, Nilay Karahan, Andrew W. Murray, Oskar Hallatschek, and David R. Nelson, Selective sweeps in growing microbial colonies, Physical Biology 9, 026008 (2012).

• K.S. Korolev, Joao B. Xavier, David R. Nelson, and Kevin R. Foster, A quantitative test of population genetics using spatiogenetic patterns in bacterial colonies, The American Naturalist 178, 538 (2011).

• K.S. Korolev and David R. Nelson, Competition and cooperation in one-dimensional stepping-stone models, Physical Review Letters 107, 088103 (2011).

• K.S. Korolev, Mikkel Avlund, Oskar Hallatschek, and David R. Nelson, Genetic demixing and evolution in linear stepping stone models, Reviews of Modern Physics 82, 1691 (2010).

• Oskar Hallatschek and K.S. Korolev, Fisher waves in the strong noise limit, Physical Review Letters 103, 108103 (2009).

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