Generalised Ellipsoid Model of Deformable Epithelial Tissues

Tyler Shendruk (University of Edinburgh)

Thursday 8th April, 2027 14:00-15:00
Maths 311B

Abstract

Biological tissues are the functional building blocks of multicellular organisms. The complex, collective movement of cellular patterns and architectures within tissues underlies key processes, from the coordinated migration that seals wounds to the large-scale deformations that shape embryos. Misregulation of tissue mechanics leads to chronic wounds, fibrosis and cancer invasion, making the quantitative understanding of tissue dynamics essential for basic biology and translational medicine. Computational models could offer a framework for achieving quantitative understanding of how cellular properties and interactions give rise to emergent tissue-scale behaviour; however, numerical models are limited by the number of cells they can simulate, restricting their potential for studying tissue dynamics in biologically relevant scenarios. To simulate orders of magnitude more cells, we propose a novel, computationally efficient approach that captures the most crucial aspects of more complex models by treating cells as idealised dynamically deformable ellipsoids. In this seminar, I will present a coarse-grained particle-based model of cells for tissue dynamics that recognises that the key emergent property of existing approaches is dynamic cell deform in response to neighbours. I will show that our particle-based model can be related tissue models that exist in the literature by structural measurements. Developing this model will allow us to simulate organoids, tissues and tumours composed of large numbers of deformable cells. 

Add to your calendar

Download event information as iCalendar file (only this event)