Conveners
Modelling of dynamic cellular and sub-cellular systems
- Luis Melara (Shippensburg University)
Description
Mathematical biology is both broad and far-reaching in its use of mathematics and the corresponding application. This minisymposium brings together a diversity of applications to physiological models. Topics range from dynamics of eye to biological and physiological reactions to cancer and degenerative eye disease treatments. This collection of research talks present a range of current applications and approaches within mathematical physiology modelling while sharing the spirit of the conference themes.
Photoreceptors are cells in the retina that convert light to chemical signals. To offset the extreme optical and metabolic demands, and thereby prevent the toxic effects of accumulated photo-oxidative products, photoreceptors undergo renewal and periodic shedding of their outer segment (OS) discs. The OS are a substructure that carries the light sensitive molecule, opsin. People afflicted with...
Advanced prostate cancer is often treated by androgen suppression therapy, since prostate cells depend on androgens for proliferation and survival. To improve the patients' quality of life and possibly delay the development of resistance, intermittent androgen suppression (IAS) therapy can be given rather than continuous therapy. We consider a mathematical model of IAS therapy involving tumour...
Pharmacokinetics (PK) describes a drug's affect on a medium (such as bacteria or tumours) while pharmacodynamics (PD) describes how a drug moves throughout and is processed by the body (along with changes in drug concentration). Taken together, these models are known as PK/PD models and ordinary differential equations (ODE) are used to describe the system. We consider an existing model in the...
Protein misfolding is one of the major causes of apoptosis in Retinitis Pigmentosa, where apoptosis is programmed cell death. Mesencephalic-Astrocyte-derived-Neurotrophic Factor (MANF) is a protein that has been shown to correct protein misfolding, thus reducing the death of cells due to “cell suicide”. In this talk, we formulate an optimal control problem that incorporates MANF treatment to...