Monthly Seminar Program
Guest Speakers:
Dr. Attila Csikáasz-Nagy
Topical Discussion Chair:
Stuart Nelis
PhD Speakers:
Pól Ó Catnaigh
Benjamin Hamilton
Stuart Nelis
5th April 2013
Seminar program
Time
13:00-14:00
Session
Lunch
Location
Common room
14:00-15:00
Invited guest speaker
MOAC Seminar room
15:00-15:15
Tea and coffee break
Common room
15:15-16:15
3 PhD Presentations
PhD presentations consist 15 minute talks (including questions) audience rotates between
three rooms
Pól Ó Catnaigh
Benjamin Hamilton
Stuart Nelis
MOAC Seminar Room
WSB 32
WSB 336
16:15-16:20
Break
Common room
16:20-16:45
Topical discussion
MOAC Seminar room
16:45 onwards
Wine and Cheese
Common room
1
Presentation Description
Guest Speaker Session
Combining game theory and graph theory to model tumour microenvironment
Mathematical concepts of graph theory and game theory both influence
models of biological systems. We combine these two approaches to understand dynamics of complex systems, especially questioning how game-like
interactions influence the cellular topology of a planar tissue. I will present
how this game-graph approach can be used to simulate epithelial tissue
growth and how it can foster our understanding of the role of cell-cell communication in the early stages of cancer development. I will further discuss
how such system could be used to model microenviromental communications
between cancer cells and the surrounding tissue.
Topical Discussion
Chaired by Stuart Nelis
The Benefits and Challenges of Using Bottom up Versus Top Down
Modeling
PhD Session 1:
Pól Ó Catnaigh
TBA
PhD Session 2:
Benjamin Hamilton
Oxytocin Induced Calcium Oscillations in Pregnancy
Oxytocin (OT) is involved in all aspects of human reproduction. It often
triggers an oscillatory [Ca2+ ]i response which depends on Ca2+ release from
the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Ca2+ entry from extracellular space.
The latter process is vital for replenishment of the ER Ca2+ store necessary for maintaining [Ca2+ ]i oscillations over time. Both, store-operated
and receptor-operated Ca2+ entry pathways have been implicated in the
OT-induced [Ca2+ ]i oscillations [1]. The contribution of the Na+ /Ca2+
exchange and the role of intraluminal ER Ca2+ buffering in OT-induced
[Ca2+ ]i oscillations have not been described. I overview my experimental
and theoretical approaches to investigate the role of the above two processes
in OT-induced [Ca2+ ]i oscillations.
2
PhD Session 3:
Stuart Nelis
Crosstalk Between SUMOylation Levels and the Gibberellic Acid
Pathway
SUMOylation is a protein modification that is vital for the correct regulation
of many pathways in eukaryotes. In plants SUMOylation of key transcriptional repressors, DELLAs, in the gibberellic acid pathway increases their
stability. SUMOylation of the DELLA proteins results in atypical binding
to the gibberellic acid receptor, GID1, via a SUMO interacting motif. This
atypical binding of SUMOylated DELLAs to GID1 prevents the usual process of directing non-SUMOylated DELLAs for degradation in the presence
of gibberellic acid. This mechanism explains how stress induced increases
in SUMOylation lead to a reduction in plant growth by modulating the gibberellic acid pathway. Understanding this process will further research in
engineering stress tolerance in crop plants.
3