Mathematical Biology Seminar - Spring 2019
Seminars are held at 11:30AM in Cullimore Hall, Room 611, unless noted otherwise.
For questions about the seminar schedule, please contact Casey Diekman
| Date | Speaker, Affiliation, and Title | Host |
|---|---|---|
| January 29 | David Albers, Columbia University Data Assimilation Approaches Using Clinical Data to Forecast and Phenotype Glucose Dynamics This talk will address data assimilation (DA) applied to the glucose-insulin system in the two clinical contexts, type-2 diabetes (T2DM) and intensive care unit (ICU) glycemic management. I will introduce the application context, the endocrine models we use, the DA methods we use, and then show how they work when applied to clinical data collected in the process of managing patients and understanding physiology. Among the problems I will discuss include forecasting glycemic state in real time and inferring model-based phenotypes such as T2DM. Finally, I will discuss how DA fails and some of the larger modeling and DA-related problems that loom over applying these methods in clinical settings. |
Matthew Moye |
| February 19 | Nir Krakauer, CUNY/CCNY Health Indicators with the New Anthropometrics Quantities derived from basic body measures (anthropometrics), notably body mass index (BMI) and secondarily waist circumference (WC), are extensively applied in medicine. Despite technological advances in medical testing, the convenience and low cost of height, weight, WC, and hip circumference measurements mean that they continue to play the central role in the epidemiologic and clinical assessment of health. The health risks associated with a specific body size and shape can be better assessed using a body shape index (ABSI) and hip index (HI), new indices derived using the principles of allometry. The anthropometric risk indicator (ARI) illustrates the predictive power of systematically combining multiple statistically independent risk factors. These new constructs are intended to allow more information to be extracted from basic measurements, potentially aiding clinical decision making and the targeting of treatment options. |
Yuan-Nan Young |
| February 26 | Alessio Franci, National Autonomous University of Mexico Control Principles of Neuronal Excitability Neurons are feedback systems. Neuronal circuits and networks are interconnections of feedback systems. Which modeling principles are suitable to understand neural systems from the molecular scales of single ion channels to the behavioral scale of brain states? Qualitative modeling grounded in feedback theory and singularity theory provides a general framework to revisit key questions of modern neuroscience, like ion channel degeneracy and the robust neuromodulation of cells, circuits, and networks. |
Casey Diekman |
| March 26 | Simon Garnier, NJIT Biological Sciences, We the Swarm: Lessons in Problem-Solving from Tiny Brains and Neuron-Less Creatures How do biological systems composed of many simple and often heterogenous blocks build and maintain large-scale functional organizations? My lab studies this paradox by looking at the collective intelligence of animal and human groups, and the cognitive-like behaviors of single-celled organisms. We work toward understanding how complex, adaptive behaviors can emerge at a large scale from multiple, small-scale interactions at a smaller scale. Within this framework, we are particularly interested in systems capable of solving complex collective tradeoffs, in particular, during decision-making, traffic and supply chain organization, and self-assembly. During this talk, I will walk you through our most recent works on self-assembly in army ants and decision-making in slime mold, and describe our holistic approach to understanding complex biological systems using field and laboratory experimentation, modern statistical analyses, and computer and mathematical modeling. |
Casey Diekman |
| April 2 | Jean-Pierre Etchegaray, Federated Department of Biological Sciences at Rutgers-Newark Interplay Between Epigenetics and Transcription Regulate Embryonic Stem Cell Function How embryonic stem cells (ESCs) commit to specific cell lineages and yield all cell types of a fully formed organism remains a major question in biology. The interplay between epigenetics and transcriptional programs is at the core of cell fate determinations during differentiation of ESCs in early stages of embryonic development. We found the interplay between the histone deacetylase sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) and the ten-eleven translocation enzymes (TETs) is essential for cell fate determinations during early embryonic development. SIRT6 targets acetylated histone H3 at lysine 9 and 56 (H3K9ac and H3K56ac), while TETs convert 5-methylcytosine (5mC) into 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC). ESCs derived from SIRT6 knockout (S6KO) mice are skewed towards neuroectoderm development. This phenotype involves de-repression of pluripotent genes, which in turn cause the upregulation of TETs and the enrichment of 5hmC at neural genes. We also demonstrated that SIRT6 can directly control transcription elongation. More specifically, SIRT6 stabilizes the pausing of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) at promoter-proximal regions to modulate transcription elongation of specific genes involved in neural development and metabolism. Collectively, we identify new mechanisms underlying epigenetic and transcriptional regulatory programs safeguarding the balance between pluripotency and differentiation of ESCs. |
Casey Diekman |
| April 16 | Kristin Tessmar-Raible, Universität Wien Timing with Sun and Moon The moon is an important timing cue for numerous marine species, ranging from brown and green algae to corals, worms, fishes and turtles. Such lunar timing typically controls the gonadal maturation and behavioral changes associated with reproductive rhythms. Despite the fundamental nature and widespread occurrence of these lunar-controlled rhythms and oscillators, little is known about their principle molecular mechanisms, their interplay with rhythms and oscillators of different period lengths, or their modulation in changing environments. The marine bristle worm Platynereis dumerilii and the midge Clunio marinus harbor light-entrained circadian, as well as a monthly (circalunar) clocks and also exhibit seasonal behaviors. Our work in Platynereis suggests that the circalunar clock persists even when circadian clock oscillations are disrupted. In order to study the molecular and cellular nature of the circalunar clock, as well as its interactions with other timing, Platynereis and Clunio can be used for complementary experimental approaches: For Platynereis we established transient and stable transgenesis, inducible specific cell ablations based on the integration of a nitroreductase-cassette, as well as TALEN/Crispr-Cas-mediated genome engineering. Using these techniques on candidate light receptors provides us with insight into the genes required for solar and lunar light detection. |
Kristen Severi |
| May 16 11AM CKB 426 |
Birendra Nath Mallick, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Dehli, India Acknowledgement : All my students and co-workers. Funding from CSIR; DBT; DST; ICMR; UGC; JC Bose Fellowship; Institutional umbrella support under DST-PURSE; -FIST; UGC- DRS; -Resource Networking; -UPE. |
Amit Bose |
| Fall 2019 | Lin Han, Drexel University (Seminar information to follow) |
Yuan-Nan Young |
Updated: May 16, 2019