CAREER: Integrated Research and Education in Nonlinear Dynamics in Biological Systems

职业：生物系统非线性动力学的综合研究和教育

• 批准号: 0845753
• 负责人: Xiaopeng Zhao
• 金额: $ 42.58万
• 依托单位: University of Tennessee Knoxville
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-09-01 至 2015-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0845753&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Integrated; Research; Education; Nonlinear

The research program of this faculty early career development (CAREER) project is to develop a comprehensive computation and analysis framework for system-level understanding of nonlinear dynamics of heart rhythm disorders that lead to fatal cardiac diseases such as ventricular fibrillation and atrial fibrillation. The specific research objectives of this project include: 1) developing simplified models to accurately describe the dynamics of cardiac myocytes; 2) developing multiscale computational methods to study dynamics of extended cardiac tissue; and 3) developing system-level understanding of cardiac arrhythmias using theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. This research aims to impact the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. Ventricular fibrillation induces sudden cardiac death, a leading cause of death in the industrialized world. Sudden cardiac death kills more than 350,000 people each year in the United States. Atrial fibrillation is the leading cause of stroke, which will affect one-fifth of Americans over 65. Improved understanding of cardiac dynamics gained from this research may eventually have a broader social impact through its medical implications. The proposed research activities will also support new cross-disciplinary collaborations in the areas of biomedical engineering, life science, and mathematics. Oscillatory and rhythmic phenomena are common in many biological processes, such as circadian cycle, metabolism, and brain activity. Because of their nonlinear, multiscale complexities, these systems defy understanding based on the conventional reductionist's approach, in which one attempts to understand a system's behavior by putting together all the constituent pieces that have been examined separately. The computational and analytical methods developed in this project provide useful tools to advance system-level understanding of these nonlinear processes. The education plan of this project aspires to train the next generation of scientists who bring nonlinear thinking into biomedical research. College students and graduates are not familiar with nonlinear phenomena and their mathematical representations. The lack of knowledge in nonlinear analysis leaves the students unprepared for real-world problems and nonlinear thinking inherent in biomedical research. Various aspects of the proposed work will be used to enhance graduate and undergraduate education in nonlinear dynamics in biological systems. An outreach program will be developed to expose K-12 students to the excitement and importance of mathematical modeling for biomedical research. In addition, the research will be used to promote higher retention rates among engineering freshmen and underrepresented groups.

该教师早期职业发展（CAREER）项目的研究计划是开发一个全面的计算和分析框架，用于系统级理解导致致命心脏疾病（如室颤和房颤）的心律失常的非线性动力学。该项目的具体研究目标包括：1）开发简化模型以准确描述心肌细胞的动力学; 2）开发多尺度计算方法以研究扩展心脏组织的动力学; 3）使用理论分析和数值模拟开发心律失常的系统级理解。本研究旨在影响心律失常的诊断和治疗。心室颤动引起心脏性猝死，这是工业化国家的主要死亡原因。在美国，心脏性猝死每年导致超过35万人死亡。房颤是中风的主要原因，这将影响五分之一的65岁以上的美国人。从这项研究中获得的对心脏动力学的更好理解最终可能通过其医学意义产生更广泛的社会影响。拟议的研究活动还将支持生物医学工程，生命科学和数学领域的新的跨学科合作。振荡和节律现象在生物周期、新陈代谢和大脑活动等许多生物过程中都很常见。由于它们的非线性、多尺度的复杂性，这些系统违背了传统还原论方法的理解，在传统还原论方法中，人们试图通过把所有已经被单独研究的组成部分放在一起来理解系统的行为。在这个项目中开发的计算和分析方法提供了有用的工具，以推进这些非线性过程的系统级的理解。该项目的教育计划旨在培养下一代将非线性思维带入生物医学研究的科学家。大学生和研究生不熟悉非线性现象及其数学表示。非线性分析知识的缺乏使学生对现实世界的问题和生物医学研究中固有的非线性思维毫无准备。所提出的工作的各个方面将被用来加强研究生和本科生在生物系统中的非线性动力学教育。将开发一个外展计划，使K-12学生接触到生物医学研究数学建模的兴奋和重要性。此外，该研究将用于促进工程新生和代表性不足的群体的更高保留率。