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Collaborative Research: Multiscale Analysis of Epithelial Patterning: Modeling and Experiments

Contents

• Contact Information
• Funding Agency 
• Research Emphasis 
• Disease Focus 
• Scales Examined 
• Biomedical, Biological and Behavioral Areas
• Modeling Methods and Tools Areas 
• Software Development 

Contact Information

Principal Investigator/Contact
Stanislav Y. Shvartsman
Princeton University
Phone: (609) 258-7071
Fax: (609) 258-3565
E-mail: stas@princeton.edu 

Grant Number - 1-R01-GM-076690-01

Funding Agency

National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIH-NIGMS)

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Research Emphasis

Embryonic development is an intrinsically multiscale phenomenon that requires highly coordinated processes at all levels of biological organization, from genes, to proteins, to cells, to tissues, and, eventually, to the whole organization. This project brings together researchers in biology, engineering and mathematics in an interdisciplinary research program aimed at bringing about new understanding of EGFR system in the development process. The researchers propose to combine experiments and modeling to study the mechanisms by which developing epithelia are patterned by the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR).

EGF, Epidermal Growth Factor, is a polypeptide (small protein) that is a powerful mitogen. [It stimulates cells to enter mitosis, cell division.] EGF promotes cell growth and differentiation, is essential in embryogenesis, and is important in wound healing.

EGFR is a protein found on the surface of cells to which epidermal growth factor [EGF] binds. When EGF attaches to EGFR, it activates the enzyme tyrosine kinase, triggering reactions that cause the cells to grow and multiply.

EGFR is essential for normal tissue development but deregulated EGFR signaling has been associated with numerous diseases, including many types of human cancers. Hence an integrative understanding of EGFR action in tissues is directly relevant to a wide range of medical problems.

The researchers will be using Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) as the experimental system.This species is a favorite model organism in genetics and developmental biology.

Disease Focus 

Embryonic development

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Scales Examined 

Time Scales

• Second(s)
• Minutes
• Hours

Biological Scales

• Sub-Cellular
• Cellular
• Multi-Cellular Systems
• Tissue
• Organ

Length Scales 

• Nanometer and below (nm)
• Micrometer (μm)
• Millimeter (mm)

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Biomedical, Biological and Behavioral (BBB) Areas and Percent Focus

50% - developmental biology, epithelial tissues, pattern formation, and cell communication networks.

Modeling Methods and Tools (MMT)Areas and Percent Focus

50% - reaction-diffusion models, PDEs, homogenization methods, optimal gids, and asymptotic analysis.

Software Development