Date: Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Speaker: Julia Chifman, Department of Cancer Biology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Title: Intracellular model of iron homeostasis

Abstract: The importance of iron to almost all leaving organisms is undeniable; iron is required for oxygen transport, energy production, DNA synthesis and cellular respiration. At the same time, excess iron can be toxic due to the possibility of various oxidation states that can facilitate the formation of hydroxyl or lipid radicals, which damage proteins, DNA, cellular membranes, and can even kill the cell. Dysregulation of iron homeostasis has been linked to a wide range of diseases, e.g. hemochromatosis, iron-refractory iron-deficiency anemia, aceruloplasminemia and cancer. To balance iron homeostasis on both the systemic and the cellular levels, human organism has developed elaborate machinery to control iron intake, storage, utilization, and recycling. Our understanding of diseases associated with iron depends on our knowledge of iron homeostasis.

This talk will describe part of a complex cellular iron network that consists of multiple feedback loops as well as a mathematical model intended to help shed light on key regulatory nodes of iron metabolism dynamics. This model is specific to normal breast epithelial cells and represents the core control system of iron metabolism focused on iron import, export, sequestration, and regulation. There are a variety of mathematical formalisms one can use. A common approach is through a system of differential equations. Alternatively, one can view the network in terms of a collection of logical rules: rather than varying continuously, the species might take on categorical values, such as LOW or HIGH. This presentation will focus on both continuous and discrete modeling approaches.

Fall, 2012 talks

Spring, 2012 Math Bio Grad student seminar