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BIOMATHEMATICS SEMINAR
Speaker: Richard Bertram
Title: Why Do Insulin Levels Oscillate?
Affiliation: Florida State University
Date: Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Place and Time: Room 200, Love Building, 3:35 pm
Abstract. In non-diabetic humans, as well as in dogs, rats,
and mice, insulin levels in the blood oscillate with a period of
roughly 5 min. The oscillations have been shown to facilitate
the actions of the liver in clearing glucose from the blood, and
are lost in type II diabetics. This may contribute to be one of the
difficulty in maintaining normal blood glucose levels in diabetics.
Insulin is secreted by micro-organs in the pancreas and each of them
exhibits oscillatory activity. In this presentation, I will discuss
how combined mathematical modeling and experimental studies over more
than a decade are revealing the biophysical mechanism for oscillatory
islets activity. I will also discuss how a hybrid mathematical/microfluidic
tool is being used to study possible mechanisms for the synchronization
of islets.
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