A unique opportunity to offer novel approaches toward the understanding of developmental aspects of one of the most important cellular signaling systems, calcium signaling, has developed from the interaction between a computational biological physics laboratory and a cell biology laboratory. The notion of a calcium signal refers to a transient increase of free cytosolic calcium ions. Ca2+ signals span a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, which endow them with the specificity required to induce defined cellular functions. For example, localized Ca2+ release through ryanodine receptors in vascular smooth muscle leads to relaxation, whereas global sustained Ca2+ signals lead to contraction. The molecular mechanisms, however, by which signaling specificity is achieved during development remain poorly understood. While this field of research has been driven so far predominantly by methods of cellular and molecular biology, this project will add a new set of tools - mathematical and computational modeling from the nanometer to the millimeter scale - that can offer new venues to explore changes in the complex intracellular Ca2+ signaling network during development. In terms of scientific Broader Impacts, the results from this work will have implications for a large variety of cell types since calcium signals are ubiquitous and regulate a plethora of cellular functions including neurotransmitter release, contraction of smooth muscle cells and fertilization.
The educational Broader Impacts of this project are enhanced by the interdisciplinary nature of the work. The project will foster interdisciplinary training of undergraduates, graduate students and postdocs. Trainees at different levels of their career from two different institutions, will acquire expertise in both mathematical and experimental approaches.
