Mathematics Program Presents
Cancer, Bacteria, and Yeast, Oh My!
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Hegeman 204
A lecture by Rachel Roe-Dale, Associate Professor of Mathematics, Skidmore College
Several experimental and clinical studies have documented that the order in which chemotherapy drugs are administered affects the outcome of cancer treatment. I present a brief discussion of a simple mathematical mechanism to explain this order dependence in conjunction with more detailed models which investigate the specific relationship between drug order and treatment response in breast cancer chemotherapy and gastric cancer chemotherapy. In all cases, I simulate treatment by bolus injection and employ a pulsing condition to indicate cell kill. I then extend this type of treatment model to my current investigation which considers the dynamics of bacteria and yeast populations. I model these populations as competitive species and simulate antibiotic treatment to investigate how this treatment alters the behavior and dynamics of the populations perhaps leading to an infectious state.
For more information, call 845-758-6822, or e-mail [email protected].
Location: Hegeman 204