Research in our group concerns the mathematical modeling and simulation of spatiotemporal processes, in particular cell motility. Our work is purely theoretical but carried out in close collaboration with experimental partners. We are developing mathematical models describing the behavior of individual cells and large cell populations incorporating

• internal signaling processes
• interactions between cells and their chemical and mechanical environment
• cell-cell communication

We use exhaustive data analysis methods to obtain quantitative information from experimental studies, involving image analysis such as single cell tracking or particle image velocimetry, microarray or network analysis. We then formulate agent-based or PDE models for cell motility, coupled with descriptions of internal regulation in form of systems of ODE's or SDE's, and with a description of the dynamic chemical and mechanical environment of the cell. The goal is a better understanding of how microscale processes and cell-cell interaction affect the population behavior, e.g. in the formation of metastases, parasite-host interaction, or the development of structure in embryonic development. 

Fellow Detail