Multiscale Dynamics of Biosystems
Our aim is to develop new mathematical frameworks for the dynamics of biological systems, spanning the scales from the molecular to the macroscopic level.
It is now clear that the study of biological components in isolation is insufficient. At the same time, simulating the full spatial and temporal information of large numbers of molecules is impractical and, even if possible, it would not necessarily lead to increased insight. Instead, we want to understand how the salient features of biological function arise from the basic interactions of its components. To achieve this, an integrated multi-level approach is required where the essential elements are identified, reduced representations are derived and are then integrated upwards taking into account the metabolic network structures and the relevant physiological mechanics.
The mathematical tools incorporate ideas from areas as diverse as stochastic processes, graph theory, computational geometry, model reduction and global optimisation together with molecular and quantum dynamics, continuum mechanics and computational fluid dynamics.
To motivate and direct the mathematical development, our research will address biological systems in which bridging different time and length scales is crucial. A few illustrative examples are:
- Self-assembly of biomolecules: Cardiac amyloids and viral capsid assembly
- From molecules to the continuum: The biophysics of membrane mechanics and chemical signalling
- Flows and fields in biological function: Electrostatics in the cell, physiological fluid dynamics and molecular imaging
Such a programme demands close interactions between biophysical scientists and mathematicians. The initial core members of the group span a variety of disciplines:
- Dr Mauricio Barahona (Biomathematics and Dynamical Systems, Dept of Bioengineering)
- Dr Ian Gould (Molecular Dynamics, Dept of Chemistry)
- Prof Kim Parker (Solid and Fluid Mechanics, Dept of Bioengineering)
- Dr Joaquim Peiro (Numerical Analysis and PDEs, Dept of Aeronautics)
- Prof Mike Robb (Methods for Quantum Chemistry, Dept of Chemistry)
- Dr Sophia Yaliraki (Theoretical Biophysics, Dept of Chemistry) - Programme leader
Follow this link for some representative publications.
The group will act as a seed for collaborations in this research theme both within Imperial College and internationally. Currently, there are ongoing collaborations at Imperial with the Departments of Mathematics, Aeronautics, Physics, Chemistry, Bioengineering, Biology and the Faculty of Medicine.
Internationally, there is developing research in collaboration with MIT, Caltech, Univ of Pennsylvania, and Princeton. It is expected that some of our collaborators will spend time at the Institute once the theme is fully running after October 2006.
If you are interested in establishing collaborations within this theme please contact the programme leader.
There are openings in this programme for excellent candidates both at the postdoctoral and PhD levels.
If interested, please send your CV to Dr Sophia Yaliraki (s.yaliraki@imperial.ac.uk)
