Colloquium: Dr. Murray Alexander
Department of Physics University of Winnipeg Winnipeg, ManitobaModelling the Role of Chemotaxis in Cell Transport
Migratory responses of cells to cellular guiding signals play an important role in
regulating a wide range of physiological and pathological processes. This enables
them, among other functions, to migrate to sites of pathogen infection. A variety
of cellular-scale processes orchestrate the macroscopic responses of the immune system.
In this talk, I will describe some attempts to model these processes at a variety
of scales:
from sub-cellular and stochastic processes to the coarsest scale Keller-Segel models.
An area of particular interest is the role of competing chemotactants. A modified
Keller-Segel model for two competing chemotactants will be presented, and the properties
of its solutions explored, including pattern formation and development of 'blow-up'
singularities. Some statistical approaches to cellular-level modelling will also be
briefly discussed, as an alternative to computational Agent Based Models, and the
possibility of describing the onset of infection as a phase transition discussed.