Agent-based, vertex-based, and continuum modeling of cell behavior in biological patterns
Many natural and social phenomena involve individual agents coming together to create group dynamics, whether the agents are drivers in a traffic jam, cells in a developing tissue, or locusts in a swarm. Here I will focus on two examples of such emergent behavior in biology, specifically cell interactions during pattern formation in zebrafish skin and gametophyte development in ferns. Different modeling approaches provide complementary insights into these systems and face different challenges. For example, vertex-based models describe cell shape, while more efficient agent-based models treat cells as particles. Continuum models, which track the evolution of cell densities, are more amenable to analysis, but it is often difficult to relate their few parameters to specific cell interactions. In this talk, I will overview our models of cell behavior in biological patterns and discuss our ongoing work on quantitatively relating different types of models using topological data analysis and data-driven techniques.
Date: 13 October 2023, 14:00 (Friday, 1st week, Michaelmas 2023)
Venue: Mathematical Institute, Woodstock Road OX2 6GG
Venue Details: L3
Speaker: Prof Alexandria Volkening (Department of Mathematics Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering)
Organising department: Mathematical Institute
Organiser: Sara Jolliffe (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: sara.jolliffe@maths.ox.ac.uk
Host: Jose Carrillo (University of Oxford)
Part of: Mathematical Biology and Ecology
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Sara Jolliffe