Biology

This project aims to investigate the physical and biological processes that initiate sap flow in maple trees during early spring when maple sap is harvested. Our study will be centered around developing a mathematical model that captures both sap flow and heat transport in the porous wood tissue, and then investigating solutions using a combination of analytical and numerical techniques.

Genital herpes (GH), caused by Herpes simplex virus type 1 or 2 (HSV-1 or -2), is one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases in the world. Currently, there is no effective treatment for GH, but a new vaccine Simplirix (by GSK), is currently in clinical trials. Simplirix has had some success in preventing disease, but only in females that are HSV-1 and -2 negative. Since oral herpes (OH, also caused by HSV-1 and -2) infection can occur at very early ages, vaccination against GH may be most effective in a childhood vaccination program.

A major pharmaceutical intervention for management of many infectious diseases is the use of antiviral drugs. However, the rise of drug resistance poses significant threats to the effectiveness of drugs. This research proposes to determine optimal treatment strategies, through the development of population dynamical models for disease transmission and control, which can minimize the effect of resistance emergence in the population. This work will primarily focus on influenza infection, which still inflicts substantial morbidity, mortality, and socioeconomic costs worldwide.

The objective of the project is to develop, evaluate and apply informative statistical methods to the task of identifying novel genes/pathways involved in breast cancer recurrence. A model for time to cancer recurrence using clinical, pathological, and molecular measures in the setting of high-dimensional genome-wide genetic scans will be developed that allows for a proportion of the patients to be long-term survivors.

Bacterial biofilms are microbial depositions on immersed surfaces and are ubiquitous in natural and engineered environments. For example, they play a significant role in medical applications where they can grow on artificial implants and cause infections; they form dental plaques and contribute to tooth decay; they can be utilized to assist in clean-up of contaminated soils or groundwater aquifers; they accelerate corrosion of metal surfaces; and they are a main culprit behind contamination of drinking water systems and food processing equipment.