Dr. Min Wu, Department of Mathematical Sciences, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Abstract: Cutting-edge development in biotechnology and medicine involves reconstructing cells, tissues, and organs. Mapping biophysical processes and their effects during the growth and morphogenesis of cells and tissues can aid in understanding and accelerating this work. In this talk, I will first discuss our theoretical and computational efforts to understand the cellular control of wall expansion and shape regulation by mapping the distribution of biophysical properties such as cell wall elastic moduli, cell wall extension rate, and new material addition rate from exocytosis. Then, I will introduce our new mathematical model to describe the growth and morphogenesis of large-scale soft living tissues and discuss its application in understanding tumor spheroid growth undergoing external compression. This model captures soft tissues’ elastic and fluidic properties and growth dynamics in response to chemomechanical stimuli. I will conclude the talk with our ongoing study in planar tissue growth and morphogenesis.
Bio: Dr. Min Wu is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Mathematical Sciences, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Program. Her research centers on the development of mathematical models and numerical methods to understand growth and morphogenesis in living systems. She obtained her Ph.D from the Department of Mathematics at UC Irvine in 2012. After graduation, she has been a Postdoctoral Researcher at the LPS, École Normale Supérieure, Paris from 2013-2014, and has been a Visiting Assistant Professor at the ESAM, Northwestern U from 2015-2017.
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