A Bayesian method for simultaneous registration and clustering of functional observations

We develop a Bayesian method that simultaneously registers and clusters functional data of interest. Unlike other existing methods, which often assume a simple translation in the time domain, our method uses a discrete approximation generated from the family of Dirichlet distributions to allow warping functions of great flexibility. Under this Bayesian framework, a MCMC algorithm is proposed for posterior sampling. We demonstrate this method via simulation studies and applications to growth curve data and cell cycle regulated yeast genes.