Upcoming Seminars
July 24, 2008
ITERATIVE COMPILATION BY EXPLORATION OF KERNEL DECOMPOSITION
Dr W. Jalby
University of Versailles Saint Quentin
Past Seminars
May 19, 2008
Recent Advances in Computation Photography
Jingyi Yu, Assistant Professor
Computer and Information Science Department University of Delaware
May 7, 2008
Gauss' Law: What does it NOT say?
H. Brian Sequeira
Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory
April 30, 2008
Circuits with Light at the Nanoscale
Nader Engheta
H. Nedwill Ramsey Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
April 15, 2008
Vacuum Technology Seminar
Varian Inc. Vacuum Technologies
March 7, 2008
Microfluidic Cell Arrays for High Throughput Signal Pathway Profiling and Drug Screening
Professor Sihong Wang
Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of New York
February 15,
Flow Control on the Micro-Scale
Dr. Benjamin Shapiro, Associate Professor
University of Maryland, Department of Aerospace Engineering
December 5, 2007
High Power Diode Lasers and Applications
Dr. Wei Gao, President and CTO
Axcel Photonics
November 30, 2007
Fascinating Rhythms:
Reverse Engineering Cortical Function from Changes in Brain Oscillations in Neurological and Psychiatric Disease
Leif Finkel, MD, PhD
University of Pennsylvania, Department of BioEngineering
November 26, 2007
Molecular Level Modeling and Dynamic Analysis of Biochemically Coupled Multicellular Systems
Michael Henson
University of Massachusetts Amherst
November 21, 2007
Nanostructures for Potential Signal Transduction Constructed via Molecular Self-Assembly
Dr. Darrin Pochen
University of Delaware, Materials Science and Engineering
November 19, 2007
Optimal Precoding for Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Gaussian Channels with Arbitrary Inputs
Dr. Fernando Perez-Cruz
Universidad Carlos III & Princeton University (joint work with Miguel Rodrigues and Sergio Verdu)
November 12, 2007
Random Control Bounds for Block Coded Transmission over Fading MIMO
Multiple Access Channel
November 7, 2007
Metal/Semiconductor Nanocomposites
Professor Joshua Zide
University of Delaware
November 2, 2007
Engineering Cancer Therapies:
Mathematical Modeling of Tumor Metabolism
and Therapeutic Efficacy
Professor Neil Forbes
University of Massachusetts Amherst
October 31, 2007
Finite Difference Delay
Dr. Xiaobo Wang
University of Delaware
October 19, 2007
Scheduling of Optimal Medication Strategies for Early HIV Infection
Professor Antonios Armaou
Pennsylvania State University
October 17, 2007
Is There Life on the Moon?
Professor Brian Sequeira
Johns Hopkins APL
April 30, 2007
Distributed Processing over Adaptive Networks
Professor Ali H. Sayed
University California, Los Angeles
April 9, 2007
Thoughts on Innovation
Ray Sokola,
Chief Technology Officer Motorola Inc.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Packet Switching Comes of Age: From Research to Commercial Development
Dr. W. David Sincoskie
March 5, 2007
Wireless Sensor Networks
Professor Edward Coyle,
Purdue University
Wednesday February 14, 2007
Confessions of an Internet Timekeeper
Dr. David L. Mills
The University of Delaware, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Engineering Cancer Therapies:Mathematical Modeling of Tumor Metabolism
and Therapeutic Efficacy
Dr. Neil Forbes
University of Massachusetts Amherst
11:15 a.m.- 12:15 p.m., 204 Evans Hall
Abstract:
The interactions of intracellularmetabolism, cell growth and death, and theaction of cancer therapeutics are acomplicated system. Understanding thissystem clearly and accurately will have manyramifications on how cancer is treated.
We have formulated a mathematicalmodel that describes the dynamic interactionsof the elements of this system. Our model
incorporates a description of intracellularenergy metabolism within reaction-diffusionequations to predict local glucose, oxygen, and lactate concentrations. It alsoincorporates transitions between cell-cyclephases, drug penetration, and drugpharmacokinetics. The model is based on thepremise that cellular growth and death arecontrolled by intracellular ATP production andenergy metabolism.
The model consists of a coupled set ofnonlinear partial differential, ordinarydifferential and algebraic equations with amoving outer boundary that is solved usingorthogonal collocation on a moving grid offinite elements.
The mathematical model was created tocouple with experimental observations ofartificial tumors grown in our laboratory. Our
artificial tumors, called cylindroids, haveoxygen partial pressures and an extracellularpH that lower in their central, necroticregions. The intracellular concentrations ofglucose, lactate, and glutamate are lower atthe center of cylindroids than at theirperiphery. These metabolic characteristics aresimilar to the physiological conditions presentin human tumors. We have also found that, asa function of radius, cells first becomequiescent because and then die due toapoptosis. These observations are reflected inthe predictions of the mathematical model.We have used the model to determinethe extent of quiescence in tumors withdifferent cellular characteristics and todetermine the critical cell survival parametersthat have the greatest impact on overallspheroid physiology. We have shown with themodel that 1) oxygen transport has a greatereffect than glucose transport on thedistribution of quiescent cells, 2) drugs withintermediate diffusion coefficients are moreeffective at reducing spheroid volume thanfast or slow diffusing drugs, and 3) tumorswith less proliferating cells are moreresponsive to chemotherapeutics than tumorswith more proliferating cells because of cellre-population.In addition, we have shownexperimentally that 1) bacteria activelychemotax toward molecules secreted byquiescent and necrotic tissue, and 2)genetically modified Salmonella expressingcytotoxic peptide increase 30-day survivalfrom zero to 100%.
The results from this work will enable thegeneration of diagnostic tools that can predictthe effectiveness of cancer therapies.Improved characterization of themicroenvironments of tumors will enabledevelopment of specifically targetedtherapeutics, including bacterial vectors thatcan overcome therapeutic resistance