Postgraduate Studentship on Mathematical modelling of self-propelled cell motion on biomaterial surfaces -

Postgraduate Studentship

Mathematical modelling of self-propelled cell motion on biomaterial
surfaces

Department of Mathematics
STUDENTSHIP covers fees (University and College) and maintenance.

Applications are invited for a postgraduate studentship, funded by the
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Global Research
Partnership [KAUST GRP], to work on "Mathematical modelling of
self-propelled cell motion on biomaterial surfaces" under the
supervision of Dr Jim Oliver, Dr Sarah Waters (OCIAM) and Dr Jonathan
Whiteley (CBG). This DPhil studentship will start on 1 October 2009, is
available to all nationalities, covers maintenance and full overseas
fees and will be based in the newly established Oxford Centre for
Collaborative Applied Mathematics (OCCAM).

OCCAM has been established with substantial funding from the KAUST GRP.
The Centre, which is part of the Mathematical Institute, will be allied
to a global network of mathematicians. Aiming to meet the
ever-increasing global demand for quantitative understanding of complex
scientific phenomena, OCCAM has been built on the strength of four
pre-existing groups of applied and computational mathematicians working
in Oxford: the Oxford Centre for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the
Centre for Mathematical Biology, the Numerical Analysis Group and the
Computational Biology Group. It has a symbiotic relationship with other
scientific communities which have a need for problem-solving mathematics
both within the University of Oxford and beyond. Over the first five
years the centre will employ 40 new staff and students.

The successful colonization of a medical implant device depends on the
early response of the host's cells to the implant surface. The
commercial development of the next generation of devices will therefore
benefit from a more quantitative understanding of the mechanisms
involved in the adhesion and migration of a single mammalian cell over a
biomaterial surface. We have developed two long-wavelength multiphase
reactive flow models of the cell's motile machinery. The models are
based on poroviscous generalizations of the thin-film equation in
lubrication theory and of the Trouton equations in extensional flow
theory. The main aims of this project are: (i) to develop robust
numerical algorithms to solve the two-dimensional versions of these
challenging free boundary problems; and (ii) to calibrate and test their
predictions by direct comparison with data from the in vitro cell
systems obtained by our experimental collaborators.

The collaborators involved in this project are Professor David Grant, Dr
Colin Scotchford (Bioengineering Group, University of Nottingham) and
Professor John King (School of Mathematical Sciences, University of
Nottingham).

The studentship is attached to Jesus College.

For information about OCCAM please visit our website:
www.maths.ox.ac.uk/occam

Applications can be made online at
www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/postgraduate_courses/apply/how_to_apply.html and
should include a CV, covering letter, three references and a transcript
of your undergraduate degree. Alternatively, applications can be sent to
Margret Sloper at the Mathematical Institute using the University's
application form for graduate study, which can be downloaded from the
above link. Applications must arrive by end of day Friday 27th February
2009. The reference for this application is BK/08/057; make sure that
you state this in the covering letter. Applicants must arrange for their
referees to send references directly to the Graduate Studies Assistant
(fax or e-mail is sufficient) by the closing date. For further details
about the projects, including the application process, please see the
Further Particulars link below, or contact Graduate Studies, email
graduate.studies@maths.ox.ac.uk

Oxford University is an Equal Opportunity Employer.