Dr. Sharon Lubkin, mathematics professor at North Carolina State University, will speak on Thursday, Nov. 17, at the next event in the CAM (Center for Applied Mathematics) Colloquium series. Her topic is “Model Perspectives On Self-Organizing Tissues.”
Free and open to the public, the presentation will begin at 7:30 p.m. in 3M Auditorium, Room 150, Owens Science Hall.
Dr. Sharon Lubkin
Lubkin, who also is an affiliated faculty member in the NCSU-UNC Biomedical Engineering Department, points out that tissues grow, change shape and differentiate, function normally or abnormally, get diseased or injured, repair themselves and sometimes atrophy. This complex suite of behaviors is governed by a complex suite of controls; nonetheless, some general principles can be identified at work in the dynamics of tissues.
Lubkin’s goal is to understand how a tissue’s mechanics and biology regulate each other. Her models use a biologically based framework to track the mechanics, biology and mechanobiology of the component cells, fluids, signaling molecules and extracellular matrix materials.
The presentation will describe her modeling approach, reveal some of the general principles she has identified and discuss some of the questions her findings have raised about specific morphogenetic systems.
Lubkin earned her Ph.D. at Cornell University and did postdoctoral work at the University of Washington. Active nationally and internationally, she is publications chair of the Society for Mathematical Biology and also has served on its board of directors. She serves on the advisory boards of several organizations.
