Spring 2018 Biomathematics Graduate Seminar
MAP 6939-05

This class now meets on Thursdays from 9:30-10:45am in LOV 200.
Occasional meetings may occur on Wednesdays from 3:35-4:50pm in LOV 107.
Please see the schedule below.

Instructor: Dr. Monica K. Hurdal

Email: mhurdal@math.fsu.edu
Webpage: www.math.fsu.edu/~mhurdal

Office Hours
Syllabus

This course is designed to be an introductory seminar for graduate students wishing to learn about the field of biomathematics, including different applications of mathematics in biology and medicine.

This class is graded S/U. Advanced graduate students will be expected to give one presentation in class. A maximum of 3 absences will be allowed in order to receive a passing grade.

Speakers:

Jan 10: Syllabus Discussion
Jan 18: Organizational Meeting

Jan 25: Dr. Monica Hurdal
Title: Conformal Mapping and Brain Mapping
Abstract: My reearch uses conformal maps to create "flat" maps of the brain. I will discuss some of the mathematics of circle packing and how it can be used to create quasi-conformal maps of the brain.

Feb 1: Dr. Monica Hurdal
Title: The Things Every Graduate Student Should Know But No One Tells You
Abstract: I will discuss some topics that every graduate student should know (but often know one tells you!), including mathematics societies, conferences, travel funding, research databases, etc.

Feb 8: Dr. Monica Hurdal
Title: Applications of Conformal Mapping in Brain Mapping
Abstract: I will discuss some of the results and research questions regarding conformal mapping and brain mapping that I am working on.

Feb 15: Virginia Parkman
Title: Canine distemper outbreak modeled in an animal shelter
Abstract: Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a highly contagious virus that can cause outbreaks, specifically in crowding situations, such as an animal shelter, in which a large number of susceptible dogs are brought together. Introduction of this virus into a shelter can have devastating effects, potentially resulting in shelter canine depopulation. Motivated by recent outbreaks in Tennessee, a mathematical model was constructed to find relevant factors that could assist in preventing or reducing outbreaks. A system of ordinary differential equations was derived to represent the spread of CDV through susceptible, exposed, infected, and recovered (S-E-I-R) classes as well as a vaccinated (V) class. Our model was adapted to represent a local Knoxville shelter. The effects of various control methods, both preventative and corrective, on disease spread were investigated.

Feb 22: Carolyn Eady
Title: Circle Packing Cortical Surfaces
Abstract: Circle packing is a quasi-conformal method used with triangulations. By superimposing a triangulated mesh on the cortical surface, we are able to apply this method to create cortical "flat" maps, or maps to constant curvature surfaces. Using this approach allows us to measure conformally invariant metrics on the surface, including some which maintain properties of angles previously neglected in cortical mappings. In this talk, I will explain theory relevant to circle packing, explain different types of circle packings and begin to delve into some of the invariant properties (which will be discussed further in a follow-up talk on this subject).

Wednesday Feb 28: Sepideh Ebadi at 3:35pm in LOV 107
Title: Evolutionary Dynamics of Bacterial Persistence Under Nutrient/Antibiotic Actions
Abstract: Diseases such as tuberculosis, chronic pneumonia, and inner ear infections are caused by bacterial biofilms. Many studies show that it is much more difficult to kill the bacteria in planktonic and biofilm than planktonic bacteria because the structure of biofilms offers additional layered protection against diffusible antimicrobials. Among the bacteria in planktonic and biofilm populations, persisters is a subpopulation that is tolerant to antibiotics and that appears to play a crucial role in survival dynamics. Understanding the dynamics of persister cells is of fundamental importance for developing effective treatments. In this talk, I present a developed method to better describe the behavior of persistent bacteria through specific experiments and mathematical modeling.

Thursday Mar 8: Canlin Zhang in LOV 200
Title: A Brief Introduction to Connectionist Temporal Classification
Abstract: I will give a basic introduction on Connectionist Temporal Classification (CTC), which is the state-of-the-art deep learning method on speech recognition. It is related to acoustic modeling, speech recognition, cognition and machine learning. I will first give an introduction on Artificial Neural Networks, and then some details on CTC algorithms.

Mar 15: No Classes - Spring Break

Mar 22: Ahmet Kilinc
Title: Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis
Abstract: Methods that are generally applicable and practical procedures for nonlinear finite element analysis will be presented.

Mar 29: Virginia Parkman
Title: The Mathematics of Infectious Disease
Abstract: The Mathematics of Infectious Disease by Herbert W. Hethcote from SIAM Review will be discussed. The abstract for the paper is as follows: Many models for the spread of infectious diseases in populations have been analyzed mathematically and applied to specfic diseases. Threshold theorems involving the basic reproduction number R0, the contact number, sigma and the replacement number R are reviewed for the classic SIR epidemic and endemic models. Similar results with new expressions for R0 are obtained for MSEIR and SEIR endemic models with either continuous age or age groups. Values of R0 and sigma are estimated for various diseases including measles in Niger and pertussis in the United States. Previous models with age structure, heterogeneity, and spatial structure are surveyed.

Apr 5: Carolyn Eady
Title: The Results of Experimenting with Conformal Invariants on Triangulated Meshes
Abstract: Last time, I discussed different conformal invariants that can be calculated on discrete meshes. We will continue on with this discussion, showing images and results for external length and harmonic measure calculations.

Apr 12: Canlin Zhang at 2:00pm in LOV 204B

Apr 19: Ahmet Kilinc at 9:30am in LOV 200

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Copyright 2018 by Monica K. Hurdal. All rights reserved.