Methods And Models In Mathematical Biology

This book developed from classes in mathematical biology taught by the authors over several years at the Technische Universität München. The main themes are modeling principles, mathematical principles for the analysis of these models and model-based analysis of data. The key topics of modern biomathematics are covered: ecology, epidemiology, biochemistry, regulatory networks, neuronal networks and population genetics. A variety of mathematical methods are introduced, ranging from ordinary and partial differential equations to stochastic graph theory and branching processes. A special emphasis is placed on the interplay between stochastic and deterministic models.

Mathematical Modeling in Biology: A Research Methods Approach is a textbook written primarily for advanced mathematics and science undergraduate students and graduate-level biology students. Although the applications center on ecology, the expertise of the authors, the methodology can be imported to any other science, including social science and economics. The aim of the book, beyond being a useful aid to teaching and learning the core modeling skills needed for mathematical biology, is to encourage students to think deeply and clearly about the meaning of mathematics in science and to learn significant research methods. Most importantly, it is hoped that students will experience some of the excitement of doing research. Features Minimal pre-requisites beyond a solid background in calculus, such as a calculus I course. Suitable for upper division mathematics and sciences students and graduate-level biology students. Provides sample MATLAB codes and instruction in Appendices along with datasets available on https://bit.ly/3fcLF3D

This is the only book that teaches all aspects of modern mathematical modeling and that is specifically designed to introduce undergraduate students to problem solving in the context of biology. Included is an integrated package of theoretical modeling and analysis tools, computational modeling techniques, and parameter estimation and model validation methods, with a focus on integrating analytical and computational tools in the modeling of biological processes. Divided into three parts, it covers basic analytical modeling techniques; introduces computational tools used in the modeling of biological problems; and includes various problems from epidemiology, ecology, and physiology. All chapters include realistic biological examples, including many exercises related to biological questions. In addition, 25 open-ended research projects are provided, suitable for students. An accompanying Web site contains solutions and a tutorial for the implementation of the computational modeling techniques. Calculations can be done in modern computing languages such as Maple, Mathematica, and MATLAB?.

Mathematical Models in Biology is an introductory book for readers interested in biological applications of mathematics and modeling in biology. A favorite in the mathematical biology community, it shows how relatively simple mathematics can be applied to a variety of models to draw interesting conclusions. Connections are made between diverse biological examples linked by common mathematical themes. A variety of discrete and continuous ordinary and partial differential equation models are explored. Although great advances have taken place in many of the topics covered, the simple lessons contained in this book are still important and informative. Audience: the book does not assume too much background knowledge--essentially some calculus and high-school algebra. It was originally written with third- and fourth-year undergraduate mathematical-biology majors in mind; however, it was picked up by beginning graduate students as well as researchers in math (and some in biology) who wanted to learn about this field.

This monograph presents new tools for modeling multiscale biological processes. Natural processes are usually driven by mechanisms widely differing from each other in the time or space scale at which they operate and thus should be described by appropriate multiscale models. However, looking at all such scales simultaneously is often infeasible, costly, and provides information that is redundant for a particular application. Hence, there has been a growing interest in providing a more focused description of multiscale processes by aggregating variables in a way that is relevant to the purpose at hand and preserves the salient features of the dynamics. Many ad hoc methods have been devised, and the aim of this book is to present a systematic way of deriving the so-called limit equations for such aggregated variables and ensuring that the coefficients of these equations encapsulate the relevant information from the discarded levels of description. Since any approximation is only valid if an estimate of the incurred error is available, the tools the authors describe allow for proving that the solutions to the original multiscale family of equations converge to the solution of the limit equation if the relevant parameter converges to its critical value. The chapters are arranged according to the mathematical complexity of the analysis, from systems of ordinary linear differential equations, through nonlinear ordinary differential equations, to linear and nonlinear partial differential equations. Many chapters begin with a survey of mathematical techniques needed for the analysis. All problems discussed in this book belong to the class of singularly perturbed problems; that is, problems in which the structure of the limit equation is significantly different from that of the multiscale model. Such problems appear in all areas of science and can be attacked using many techniques. Methods of Small Parameter in Mathematical Biology will appeal to senior undergraduate and graduate students in applied and biomathematics, as well as researchers specializing in differential equations and asymptotic analysis.

Mathematical models can be used to meet many of the challenges and opportunities offered by modern biology. The description of biological phenomena requires a range of mathematical theories. This is the case particularly for the emerging field of systems biology. Mathematical Methods in Biology and Neurobiology introduces and develops these mathematical structures and methods in a systematic manner. It studies: • discrete structures and graph theory • stochastic processes • dynamical systems and partial differential equations • optimization and the calculus of variations. The biological applications range from molecular to evolutionary and ecological levels, for example: • cellular reaction kinetics and gene regulation • biological pattern formation and chemotaxis • the biophysics and dynamics of neurons • the coding of information in neuronal systems • phylogenetic tree reconstruction • branching processes and population genetics • optimal resource allocation • sexual recombination • the interaction of species. Written by one of the most experienced and successful authors of advanced mathematical textbooks, this book stands apart for the wide range of mathematical tools that are featured. It will be useful for graduate students and researchers in mathematics and physics that want a comprehensive overview and a working knowledge of the mathematical tools that can be applied in biology. It will also be useful for biologists with some mathematical background that want to learn more about the mathematical methods available to deal with biological structures and data.

An introduction to the mathematical concepts and techniques needed for the construction and analysis of models in molecular systems biology. Systems techniques are integral to current research in molecular cell biology, and system-level investigations are often accompanied by mathematical models. These models serve as working hypotheses: they help us to understand and predict the behavior of complex systems. This book offers an introduction to mathematical concepts and techniques needed for the construction and interpretation of models in molecular systems biology. It is accessible to upper-level undergraduate or graduate students in life science or engineering who have some familiarity with calculus, and will be a useful reference for researchers at all levels. The first four chapters cover the basics of mathematical modeling in molecular systems biology. The last four chapters address specific biological domains, treating modeling of metabolic networks, of signal transduction pathways, of gene regulatory networks, and of electrophysiology and neuronal action potentials. Chapters 3–8 end with optional sections that address more specialized modeling topics. Exercises, solvable with pen-and-paper calculations, appear throughout the text to encourage interaction with the mathematical techniques. More involved end-of-chapter problem sets require computational software. Appendixes provide a review of basic concepts of molecular biology, additional mathematical background material, and tutorials for two computational software packages (XPPAUT and MATLAB) that can be used for model simulation and analysis.

This book presents an exciting collection of contributions based on the workshop “Bringing Maths to Life” held October 27-29, 2014 in Naples, Italy. The state-of-the art research in biology and the statistical and analytical challenges facing huge masses of data collection are treated in this Work. Specific topics explored in depth surround the sessions and special invited sessions of the workshop and include genetic variability via differential expression, molecular dynamics and modeling, complex biological systems viewed from quantitative models, and microscopy images processing, to name several. In depth discussions of the mathematical analysis required to extract insights from complex bodies of biological datasets, to aid development in the field novel algorithms, methods and software tools for genetic variability, molecular dynamics, and complex biological systems are presented in this book. Researchers and graduate students in biology, life science, and mathematics/statistics will find the content useful as it addresses existing challenges in identifying the gaps between mathematical modeling and biological research. The shared solutions will aid and promote further collaboration between life sciences and mathematics.