Time: | Nov. 10, 2015, 1:30pm-2:30pm. |
---|---|
Place: | 106 McAllister Building. |
Speaker: | Herbert Levine, Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University |
Title: | Models of cell motility: From the single cell to the collective sheet |
Abstract: | Cell motility is essential for many biological processes including wound healing, immune response, and cancer metastasis. For cells crawling on surfaces, motility involves a complex interplay between acto-myosin based force generation, adhesion to the substrate and chemical-based polarization to determine a direction. Here, we discuss our work aimed at developing integrative computational models of cell motility, ranging in complexity from simple geometrical models to complex phase-field approaches coupled to cytoskeletal mechanics. We also discuss initial efforts at using single cell models to understand the collective behavior of motile cells when they interact. |