Understanding Type-2 Diabetes progression through mathematical modelling

This is the page for the keynote presentation by Dr. Eric Cytrynbaum.

Abstract

Much clinical and experimental research has focussed on deciphering the mechanisms by which patients with Type-2 Diabetes move from healthy through pre-diabetic to fully diabetic. Some modeling work has been done to put these theories to the test but it is surprisingly incomplete. In this talk, I will give an overview of the ongoing work of PhD student Katie Faulkner, who is working with me and Prof Jim Johnson (Dept of Cellular and Physiological Sciences) on building a theoretical framework for understanding this process. The model consists of a system of ODEs describing the way the body handles glucose, fats, insulin and a few related quantities. The analysis is primarily bifurcation theory. No biology background is required although some tolerance for a bit of jargon may be useful.