Talk by Mojdeh Mohtashemi, MIT - Friday, 23 Feb.

[Margery Ishmael]

Friday, 23 February at 2:30 pm in Ryerson 251

Mojdeh Mohtashemi
MIT Laboratory for Computer Science

Title: Transients in Health and Early Diagnostics:
Can Mathematical and Computational Sciences Help?

Abstract: The physiology of any animal is subject to wide range of 
variations. In
addition to diurnal rhythms and pulses of food, there are transitory
changes in the physical and social environment. Changes in the
temperature, time and content of food intake, patterns of physical and
emotional stress, social policies, etc, can cause rapid variations in
blood pressure, heart rate, induction of immune elements, neural
capacity, emotional stability, and other aspects of physiology. I refer
to such variations affecting health as transients in health. Therefore
we ask: When are particular fluctuations relevant to disease processes
and when can they be averaged out? And if some fluctuations are
important in defining the health of an individual or a population, then:
What are the underlying processes producing them?

I will introduce the notion of transients in health through two
examples: (1) Early within-host dynamics of infectious disease, and (2)
Population vulnerability to disease and mortality. I will further refine
my view of transients in health by uncovering the shortcomings of two
related disciplines: mathematical biology and computational biology. I
will then argue why neither the traditional view of mathematical biology
nor the molecular view of computational biology can adequately address
problems of transient nature, and propose a multidisciplinary approach,
encompassing mathematical, computational, and biological sciences, to
complex processes that significantly affect our health in the short
term.

Finally, I will overview a handful of research projects in progress, as
well as future works, all exemplifying the significance of transients in
complex health processes.

*The talk will be followed by refreshments in Ryerson 255*
-- 
Margery Ishmael
Department of Computer Science
The University of Chicago
1100 E. 58th Street
Chicago, IL. 60637

Tel. 773-834-8977  Fax. 773-702-8487