Mathematics Graduate Student Colloquium

Computational Oncology: An Introduction to Cancer, with Simulations and Cool Results

Paul Macklin
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
4:00 pm - 4:50 pm
PSCB 120

Talk Abstract:

After giving an introduction to cancer, we shall present a nonlinear continuum model of cancer at the tissue scale. This extensible model includes nutrient transport, proliferation-induced biomechanical pressure/stress, degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM), and angiogenesis. Reaction-diffusion equations are solved with advanced, highly-accurate nonlinear solvers including the ghost fluid method, and the tumor morphology is evolved with the level set method, which is capable of tracking arbitrarily complex shapes. We demonstrate the computer model in action (with multimedia animations), present tumor-microenvironment interaction studies, and discuss implications for cancer therapy.

About the Speaker:

Paul Macklin is a fourth-year graduate student here at UCI. He earned his B.A. in mathematics and German at the U. of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1999 and his M.S. in industrial and applied mathematics at the U. of Minnesota in 2003. His past research interests include contaminant transport in groundwater flow and fiber optics.

Advisor and Collaborators

John Lowengrub is Macklin's Ph.D. advisor. Other collaborators include Natalia Komarova here at UCI, Mark Chaplain and "Sandy" Anderson at the University of Dundee, and Steven McDougall at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh.

Supplementary Materials:

Please visit Paul's computational oncology website for animations , tutorials , publications , and other useful links and resources .

Refreshments:

Pizza will be served after the talk.

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