Martin Krause

Optimization of stimulus profiles in cell biological experiments

"I use techniques of mathematical modelling for generating stimulus profiles in experiments related to the investigation of pancreatic cancer."

In biological experiments a pancreatic stellate cell line is stimulated by the glycoprotein Interferon-gamma. This leads to an activation of intracellular signalling pathways. The STAT1 signalling pathway is for example such a pathway. Medical research is interested in special processes of this pathway and their time-dependent development.

The question I focus on is: How has the pancreatic stellate cell to be stimulated to obtain desired response signals?

My work should help improving biomedical research in the field of pancreatic cancer.

The question can be answered by creating a mathematical optimization problem that has to be solved. An evolutionary algorithm based on Particle Swarm Optimization and Pattern Search was used for solving the optimization problem.

Through the application of the optimization algorithm several stimulus profiles could be generated. Furthermore some more optimization problems could be created and solved by an attempt to model a continuous stimulation (constant inflow of Interferon-gamma) and trying to find a stimulus profile that ensures maximal response signals.