Math Modeling Seminar: Quantifying immune activity and optimal perturbations in the solid tumor microenvironment

Math Modeling Seminar
Quantifying immune activity and optimal perturbations in the solid tumor microenvironment

Zoom Link here

Dr. Anne Talkington
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
University at Buffalo

Abstract:
Despite recent advances in therapeutic strategies, many cancers are not responsive to treatment. One way in which cancer is consistently able to evade an immune response is through a series of immune checkpoints, or inhibitors. Immune checkpoint blockade seeks to prevent this evasion by competitively binding to the inhibitory receptors on the immune cell surface, thereby reducing the cancer’s opportunities for immune downregulation. We explore the optimization of immune checkpoint blockade from a multiscale perspective. We first consider an ODE system for tumor-immune cellular dynamics and immune checkpoint perturbation at the whole-tumor level. We then consider an agent-based model for tumor-immune interactions at the individual cell level. Finally, we demonstrate the role of immune checkpoint blockade efficiency in our model system. This work holds promise for informing optimal therapeutic design strategies.

Bio:
Anne Talkington is an Assistant Professor at the University at Buffalo Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Dr. Talkington works at the intersection of mathematical modeling, immunology, oncology, and pharmacology. She received her B.S. in Mathematics and B.A. in Biology from Duke University, and her M.S. in Applied Mathematics and Ph.D. in Computational Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She then pursued postdoctoral research at the University of Virginia in Systems Immunology. Dr. Talkington recently completed a National Research Council Fellowship at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where she developed a multiscale modeling framework for tumor-immune interactions. Since joining UB in early 2025, her emerging research group has focused on understanding spatiotemporal immune activity in the tumor microenvironment and optimization of therapeutic strategies for immune checkpoint inhibition. The Talkington Lab integrates computational models and experimental data to answer questions of optimization in drug activity and delivery strategies.

Intended Audience:
Beginners, undergraduates, graduates. Those with interest in the topic.

Interpreters have been requested.