There is a substantial demand for mathematical talent in the biomedical sciences. This IGMS grant will help meet this demand by providing training in physiology, which is one of the more mathematical areas of the biosciences, for Donald French. He will spend one year jointly hosted by two Professors in the College of Medicine at his home institution.
In particular, they will investigate a system of self-organizing neurons that form a signaling network which undergoes synchronized intracellular calcium oscillations. French will also take courses in neuroscience and cell biology; attend conferences in Neuroscience; teach a course entitled ``Computational Neuroscience''; and mentor a mathematics graduate student.
The planned research is interesting since it will involve the collaboration between a theoretician and experimentalists. The investigation will be on a network of neurons that can be viewed as a complex system and a focus of the work will be on emergent properties such as synchronized calcium oscillations. This in-depth experience will provide the appropriate training so French can develop his own research program. This research program will not necessarily be limited to neuroscience. For example, the type of neuronal modeling being done during the immersion year is similar to mathematical modeling used to describe cardiac function.
This grant will extend knowledge in Physiology through research on neuronal networks and advance human resource development by training the PI in Physiology. It will also provide a highly interdisciplinary research experience in Mathematical Physiology for the PI's graduate student. After the term of the grant French will continue to provide leadership in Mathematical Physiology at his home Mathematics Department through his teaching and research. These activities will enrich the educational experience for students and broaden their career options. This IGMS project is jointly supported by the MPS Office of Multidisciplinary Activities (OMA) and the Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS).
