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

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 fiveyears the centre will employ 40 new staff and students. The successful colonization of a medical implant device depends on theearly 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 andshould include a CV, covering letter, three references and a transcriptof your undergraduate degree. Alternatively, applications can be sent to Margret Sloper at the Mathematical Institute using the University'sapplication form for graduate study, which can be downloaded from theabove link. Applications must arrive by end of day Friday 27th February2009. The reference for this application is BK/08/057; make sure thatyou state this in the covering letter. Applicants must arrange for theirreferees to send references directly to the Graduate Studies Assistant(fax or e-mail is sufficient) by the closing date. For further detailsabout the projects, including the application process, please see theFurther Particulars link below, or contact Graduate Studies, email
graduate.studies@maths.ox.ac.uk
Oxford University
is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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