Mathematical modelling of epidermal self-renewal and radiation induced cancer progression

Project level: PhD, Masters, Honours, Summer

The aim of this project is to understand the hierarchy and relative contributions of different stem cell populations to epidermal homeostasis and develop a comprehensive computational model that accurately describes the hierarchy and spatial/temporal organization of tissue self-renewal. This project will analyze new experimental data obtained from advanced imaging and genetic technology at the UQ Clinical Research Centre. Mathematical modeling will be used to interpret the observed clone size distribution and the spatial correlation of labelled clones with the position of hair follicles. The project will also study the effects of UV radiation induced carcinogenesis on epidermal regeneration by developing a predictive model for the growth dynamics of mutant clones.