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Physiology
Microbiology: Mathematical Modeling of Blood Stream Infections (with P.Nelson and J.Younger)
Project overview:
Dr. Younger's laboratory is very interested in the pathogenesis of blood stream
infections, and modeling this important disease has become an
increasingly important part of our work. We are currently very
interested in mechanical interactions that occur between blood borne
bacteria and the fluid environment in which they flow during systemic
infection. We currently are collaborating with the Department of
Chemical Engineering to design experiments that will allow us to define
key mechanical characteristics of bacteria and bacterial aggregates
(such as relaxation time, elastic modulus, and the critical shear at
which physical rupture of bacterial aggregates occur). For students
interested in modeling, this is an excellent environment that combines
an important human illness, microrheology for which a large theoretical
foundation exists, and the ability to participate in experiments
directly related to modeling efforts. Projects involving ODE models, as
well as finite element analysis, might include simple but clinically
very important mechanical questions such as:
1) Will a bloodborne aggregate of bacteria deform and ultimately fracture
when traveling in the bloodstream, or will it instead reversibly deform
and tumble until they occlude a blood vessel?
2) What is the critical diameter above which a bacterial aggregate
irreversibly occludes a blood capillary as opposed to deforming and
passing successfully downstream through the vessel?
3) When many bacteria travel together in the bloodstream, how does the
metabolic behavior of bacteria positioned at the boundary of the
structure affect the survival of bacteria located within the core of the
structure?
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