Mathematical Modeling Seminar Series
The Mathematical Modeling Seminar Series showcases speakers developing mathematical models and advancing mathematical approaches to study complex systems.
Join us for our upcoming seminar!
Towards Optimization of Monoclonal Antibody Therapeutics Using a 3D Model of Cancer-Immune Interaction
Tuesday, February 17
2:00 - 2:50 PM
Gosnell Hall 1174 or Zoom
Dr. Jordana O'Brien
Postdoctoral Researcher
University at Buffalo
Abstract: T cell exhaustion is a dysfunctional state that develops after prolonged antigen exposure, in which T cells progressively lose their ability to proliferate, secrete cytokines, and eliminate malignant cells. A hallmark of exhaustion is the sustained expression of inhibitory receptors, including Programmed Cell Death protein 1 (PD-1) and Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte Associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), which transmit suppressive signals that limit immune activity. Cancer cells exploit these regulatory pathways by upregulating inhibitory receptor ligands on their surface, further driving the exhausted phenotype. Furthermore, recent studies indicate that the 24-hour period after initial antigen exposure is a critical window in the determination of T cell fate. Monoclonal therapeutic antibodies (mAbs) that target inhibitory receptors boost immune function by disrupting suppressive signaling pathways and have been shown to aid in the recovery of cytotoxic function. In this project, we explore trajectories of early phase T cell exhaustion and the impact of immune checkpoint intervention within the first 12 hours of antigen exposure. To do so, we construct a multiscale, off-lattice 3D model of the tumor microenvironment (TME). This framework couples an agent-based model of cell–cell interactions with a reaction–diffusion model for antibody transport and infiltration. Cell motility is modeled through intermolecular forces based on a combined Hertz/Lennard-Jones potential, and T cell chemotaxis is characterized by a prescribed cytokine signaling function. In the current model iteration, we consider αPD-1 mAbs, which bind to PD-1 on T cells and block the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway, thereby limiting exhaustion. Our model tracks both exhausting interactions between cancer and effector T cells and the infiltration capacity of T cells into the TME. We assess parameter sensitivity by computing first-order and total-order Sobol indices. We highlight key factors that influence T cell migration and progression into an exhaustive state. Our analysis provides insights into how microenvironmental and therapeutic parameters influence T cell function and may inform future modeling strategies for immunotherapy optimization.
Bio: Jordana is a first-year post-doctoral researcher in the Talkington Lab at the University at Buffalo. She received her PhD in mathematical modeling from the Rochester Institute of Technology, where she conducted her dissertation on the modeling of pulmonary drug transport and delivery. She dabbled in PKPD modeling as a summer intern at Merck, and she worked for three years as a student researcher at Los Alamos National Lab while completing her degree. Aside from mathing, she enjoys pole dancing, creating art, planning her next trip, and dance parties with her nine-year-old daughter.
Interpreting services are provided.
Seminar Schedule
Learning and Uncertainty in Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Risk
Tuesday, February 24
2:00 - 2:50 PM
Gosnell Hall 1174 or Zoom
Dr. Tony Wong
Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics
RIT
Abstract: Sea-level rise is a major driver of coastal risk, yet estimates of future sea levels and coastal damages depend on a complex modeling chain with substantial uncertainty. In this talk, I present mathematical and statistical approaches for representing, learning about, and attributing uncertainty in sea-level rise. I describe a Bayesian framework for updating beliefs about future sea levels as new information becomes available. This approach is used with a coastal adaptation model to formalize how improved sea-level knowledge can inform coastal adaptation decisions. Random forests are used to quantify the influence of climate model parameters and processes on uncertainty in future sea levels, clarifying which uncertainties dominate at different time horizons. Despite the many inherent uncertainties in climate and sea level modeling, we find that coastal damages from climate change are much worse beyond 2 degrees of global warming, with losses felt inequitably by the Global South.
Bio: Tony Wong is an Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics at RIT. He earned a BS in Mathematics and Astrophysics in 2010 and a PhD in Applied Mathematics in 2016, followed by a postdoc position in Earth Science at Penn State and serving as an Assistant Teaching Professor in Computer Science at the University of Colorado Boulder. His research lies at the intersection of applied mathematics, statistics, and climate science, focusing on uncertainty quantification, model-data fusion, and coastal risk from climate change, as well as on STEM education research on computational literacy and student persistence. His work has contributed to sea-level rise and climate impact assessments cited by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and adopted by environmental policy-making agencies in the U.S. and beyond.
Interpreting services are provided.
Speaker:
Title:
Abstract:
Bio:
Speaker:
Title:
Abstract:
Bio:
Speaker:
Title:
Abstract:
Bio:
Speaker:
Title:
Abstract:
Bio:
Speaker:
Title:
Abstract:
Bio:
Past Seminar Speakers
Computational Framework for the Elastography Inverse Problem
Basca Jadamba
Professor
RIT School of Mathematics and Statistics
Materials by Design
Pratik Dholabhai
Associate Professor
RIT School of Physics and Astronomy
Modeling treatment of osteoarthritis with standard therapy and senolytic drugs
Nourridine Siewe
Assistant Professor
RIT School of Mathematics and Statistics
Minimum spectral radius in a given class of graphs
Dr. Vishal Gupta, Ph.D.
Visiting Assistant Professor
University of Rochester
Microbial Coatings and Predictive Modeling: A Systems Approach to Corrosion Inhibition
Dr. Blessing Emerenini, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, School of Mathematics and Statistics
Rochester Institute of Technology
An ancient evolutionary calculus for attention signaling retained in modern music
Dr. Gregory Babbitt, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, T.H. Gosnell School of Life Science
Rochester Institute of Technology
Blood Digital Twins Developed Using Dynamic State Modeling of Single-Cell RNA-seq Data
Dr. Pancy Thein Lwin, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher
University of Rochester Medical Center
Quantifying immune activity and optimal perturbations in the solid tumor microenvironment
Dr. Anne Talkington, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University at Buffalo
Learning Beyond the Training Distribution: Toward Adaptive and Open-World Learning Systems
Dr. Tyler Hayes, Ph.D.
Research Faculty & Research Scientist
Georgia Institute of Technology
A causal cross-frequency coupling framework for quantifying brain dynamic changes in dementia
Dr. Marco Pinto-Orellana, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Rochester Institute of Technology
Fraud Detection for Random Walks
Dr. Varsha Dani
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science
Rochester Institute of Technology
A Systematic Formulation Tightening Approach for Mixed-Binary Linear Programming (MBLP) Problems
Dr. Bing Yan
Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Microelectronic Engineering
Rochester Institute of Technology
Bayesian Modeling and Statistical Inference in Machine Learning for Imaging Applications
Dr. Dimah Dera
Endowed Assistant Professor, Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science
Rochester Institute of Technology
Systems Biomedicine and Pharmaceutics: Multiscale Modeling of Tissue Remodeling and Damage
Dr. Ashlee N. Ford Versypt
Associate Professor
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
University at Buffalo
Mathematical Models of Obesity-Induced Diabetes and Senescence-Induced Osteoporosis
Dr. Nourridine Siewe
Assistant Professor, School of Mathematics and Statistics
Rochester Institute of Technology
Large-Scale Climate Dynamics Through the Lens of Network Analysis
Dr. Nishant Malik
Assistant Professor, School of Mathematics and Statistics
Rochester Institute of Technology
Accelerating Eigensolvers with Momentum
Dr. Sara Pollock
Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics
University of Florida
Quantum Computing: What Could It Do And How Do We Prepare?
Keegan Kresge
Math Development Program
National Security Agency
Modeling and Parameterization of Respiratory Dynamics in the Preterm Infant
Dr. Laura Ellwein Fix
Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics
Virginia Commonwealth University
Mathematical Modeling of Earth Surface Processes
Dr. Rachel Glade
Assistant Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Rochester
Who is the GOAT? Sports Rankings and Random Walks on the Symmetric Group
Dr. Juan Carlos Martínez Mori
Schmidt Science Fellow and a President's Postdoctoral Fellow
H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
A Spatially Explicit Model of Inverse Colony Formation of Cellulolytic Biofilms
Dr. Hermann Eberl
Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics
University of Guelph
Brain-Inspired Computing: Beyond Backpropagation of Errors
Dr. Alexander Ororbia
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science
Rochester Institute of Technology
A New Class of Odd Lindley Type Distributions and Its Applications
Dr. Nonhle Channon Mdziniso
Assistant Professor, School of Mathematics and Statistics
RIT
Software for Compositional Modeling
Dr. John C. Baez
Professor of Mathematics, Emeritus & F. Burton Jones Chair
Mathematics Department
University of California, Riverside
Modeling the Effects of Temperature on Sleep Patterns
Dr. Alicia Prieto Langarica
Distinguished Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Youngstown State University
Fixed Point Method for Solving Bilevel Variational Inequalities with Applications
Dr. Oluwatosin Temitope Mewomo
Professor, School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Durban, South Africa
Mathematical Modeling of Methane Gas Extraction from Lake Kivu
Dr. Denis Ndanguza
Dean, School of Science
Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics
University of Rwanda
Patterns of Symmetric Orthogonal Matrices
Dr. Shahla Nasserasr
Assistant Professor, School of Mathematics and Statistics
RIT
An Eye-Opening View of Computational Optimal Transport: OT in Molecular Vision Studies
Dr. Miranda Lynch
Staff Scientist, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute
Buffalo, NY
A Whirlwind Tour of Data Assimilation from a Machine Learning Perspective with Applications to Sea Surface Height Interpolation
Dr. Juan Emmanuel Johnson
Postdoctoral Researcher
CSIC (Spanish National Research Council)
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Statistically Augmented Finite Element Models to Study Knee Biomechanics
Dr. Amy Lerner
Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering
Academic Director, Center for Medical Technology & Innovation
University of Rochester
Dr. Erin Leatherman
Associate Professor of Statistics
Kenyon College
ATOMDANCE: Machine Learning Denoising and Resonance Analysis for Functional and Evolutionary Comparisons of Protein Dynamics
Dr. Gregory Babbitt
Associate Professor, Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences
Navigating Uncertainty in Mathematical Models of Climate Impacts
Dr. Vivek Srikrishnan
Assistant Professor, Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering
Cornell University
Qualitative Methods for Small Volume, Inverse Shape Problems
Mr. Govanni Granados
PhD Candidate, Department of Mathematics
Purdue University
Modeling the Dynamics of Centrosome Movement
Dr. Sarah D. Olson
William Steur Professor & Department Head, Department of Mathematical Sciences
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Mathematical Modeling in Supply Chain Management
Dr. Kristina Šorić
Professor, Department of Mathematics
RIT Croatia
Contact Lens and Tear Film Dynamics With Applications Towards Drug Delivery
Dr. Daniel Anderson
Professor, Department of Mathematical Sciences
George Mason University
Rowing, Waving, and Worms: Exploring Tomopteris Swimming Performance
Dr. Nicholas Battista
Associate Professor
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
The College of New Jersey
Voronoi Tessellations: From Optimal Quantization to Modelling Collective Behaviour
&
Dr. Rustum Choksi
Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics
McGill University
Mathematical modeling of myosin dynamics in the cell cortex during confined bleb-based migration
Dr. Emmanuel Asante-Asamani
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Clarkson University
Efficient and Explainable Data Fusion for Misinformation Detection During High Impact Events
Dr. Zois Boukouvalas
Assistant Professor
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
American University
Extracting Autism's Biomarkers in Placenta Using Multiscale Methods
Dr. Karamatou Yacoubou Djima
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Wellesley College
Between Yes and No: Making Decisions Under Uncertainty
Dr. Ami Radunskaya
Lingurn H. Burkhead Professor of Mathematics
Pomona College
Variational Formulations for Direct Inversion from Full-Field Wave Data
Dr. Olalekan Babaniyi
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Rochester Institute of Technology
Bounded-Confidence Models of Opinion Dynamics on Networks
Mason Porter
Professor, Department of Mathematics
University of California, Los Angeles
Towards a Non-Invasive, Functional Metric of Flexor Tendon Healing Using Ultrasound Elasticity Imaging
Dr. Michael Richards
Assistant Professor
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Rochester Institute of Technology
Discrete-Time Models and a SARS CoV-2 Mystery: Sub-Saharan Africa’s Low SARS CoV-2 Disease Burden
Dr. Nourridine Siewe
Assistant Professor
School of Mathematical Sciences
Rochester Institute of Technology
Humans Make Things Messy
Dr. Shelby M. Scott
Senior Consultant and Health Data Scientist
Guidehouse
Improving SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing accuracy using higher dimensional probability models
Dr. Rayanne Luke
Assistant Professor
Postdoctoral Scholar
Johns Hopkins University / NIST
Stochastic and spatial modelling of reaction network systems
Dr. Lea Popovic
Assistant Professor
Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Concordia University, Montreal
Regularization of the Factorization Method with Applications
Dr. Isaac Harris
Assistant Professor
Department of Mathematics
Purdue University
Variable Projection Methods for Separable Nonlinear Inverse Problems
Dr. Malena Español
Assistant Professor
School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences
Arizona State University
