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The ISBGroup Blog

About the blog

Here you can read about everything that's happening in the ISB Group.

New Student – Anton

News Posted on Wed, September 05, 2018 09:32:00

Hello!

My name is Anton Tornerefelt, I’ve just finished my third
year studying engineering biology.

Having recently finished my Bachelor’s project, which
sparked my interest in systems biology and modeling, I was eager to continue
working on this topic. Thankfully, I was granted the opportunity to work with
the ISB group for almost a year. My work will be focused on the different effects of
T-cell differentiation.

When I am not working, I enjoy wasting my time on watching movies and occasionally jogging.

I am looking forward to work and to bond with all colleagues here at the ISB-group!



New Student – Henrik

News Posted on Wed, September 05, 2018 09:21:14

Hi, my name
is Henrik, I’ve been accepted to the research preparation course (the
internship).

The subject of the internship is not completely decided yet, but it will involve the connection
between a brain function and the blood circulation.

Up until
now I’ve finished my bachelor project and with that my 3rd year at
the Engineering Biology program.

I am an
active person and like to train, previously I’ve been doing sports (mainly
swimming), and I spend a lot of my time at the gym.

I am looking forward to my time with the ISB group and am hoping for a fun and a instructive period.



AstraZeneca Award

News Posted on Thu, February 08, 2018 12:19:19


Elin was recently awarded the prestigious AstraZeneca Science Award 2017 in the category Post-Doc. All the short-listed candidates was invited to the ceremoni with dinner at the Guildhall in the centre of the historic city of Cambridge. The top-right picture shows Elin being interviewed directly after the prize ceremony answering the typical question “how does it feel”.



Barcelona!!

News Posted on Sun, November 19, 2017 17:52:49

In october, I went to Barcelona to attend the annual meeting of the European Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine and Biology (ESMRMB). Gunnar also came for one day. I presented a poster about my work modelling liver function. I also presented a poster and gave a short “lightning talk” on behalf of Mikael Forsgren, who could not attend.

/Markus



Karin nailed her thesis

News Posted on Thu, November 16, 2017 09:38:27

A couple of weeks before defending a thesis, it is common that the PhD student nails their thesis to a log in some of the common areas of the university. This is done to annouce that the student intends to defend their thesis and that anyone who wishes may read it and attend the defense to ask questions. The nailing is then celebrated with delicious cake.

I, Karin Lundengård, have now nailed my thesis ”Mechanistic Modelling – a BOLD Response to the fMRI Information Loss Problem” and I will defend it on the 30:th of November, 13.15 in Hugo Theorells sal (Northern Entrance, Floor 9). My opponent will be Kamil Uludag, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.

Anyone who wants to attend the defense is welcome.

The full thesis is available at the following link: https://doi.org/10.3384/diss.diva-142870

English abstract:
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is a common technique for imaging brain activity in humans. However, the fMRI signal stems from local changes in oxygen level rather than from neuronal excitation. The change in oxygen level is referred to as the Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) response, and is connected to neuronal excitation and the BOLD response are connected by the neurovascular coupling. The neurons affect the oxygen metabolism, blood volume and blood flow, and this in turn controls the shape of the BOLD response. This interplay is complex, and therefore fMRI analysis often relies on models. However, none of the previously existing models are based on the intracellular mechanisms of the neurovascular coupling. Systems biology is a relatively new field where mechanistic models are used to integrate data from many different parts of a system in order to holistically analyze and predict system properties. This thesis presents a new framework for analysis of fMRI data, based on mechanistic modelling of the neurovascular coupling, using systems biology methods.
Paper I presents the development of the first intracellular signaling model of the neurovascular coupling. Using models, a feed-forward and a feedback hypothesis are tested against each other. The resulting model can mechanistically explain both the initial dip, the main response and the post-peak undershoot of the BOLD response. It is also fitted to estimation data from the visual cortex and validated against variations in frequency and intensity of the stimulus. In Paper II, I present a framework for separating activity from noise by investigating the influence of the astrocytes on the blood vessels via release of vasoactive sub- stances, using observability analysis. This new method can recognize activity in both measured and simulated data, and separate differences in stimulus strength in simulated data. Paper III investigates the effects of the positive allosteric GABA modulator diazepam on working memory in healthy adults. Both positive and negative BOLD was measured during a working memory task, and activation in the cingulate cortex was negatively correlated to the plasma concentration of diazepam. In this area, the BOLD response had decreased below baseline in test subjects with >0.01 mg/L diazepam in the blood. Paper IV expands the model presented in Paper I with a GABA mechanism so that it can describe neuronal inhibition and the negative BOLD response. Sensitization of the GABA receptors by diazepam was added, which enabled the model to explain how changes to the BOLD response described in Paper III could occur without a change in the balance between the GABA and glutamate concentrations.
The framework presented herein may serve as the basis for a new method for identification of both brain activity and useful potential biomarkers for brain diseases and disorders, which will bring us a deeper understanding of the functioning of the human brain.



New Student – Josef

News Posted on Thu, October 26, 2017 14:51:36

This
autumn, we welcome another new student in our group: Josef Grännö

Hello, my name is Josef, I study medicine, and
I’m here at ISB Group to do a project for my 6th semester.

My project is about glycemic management in
patients admitted to the intensive care unit. During my time here I will
compare different models that aim to be used as decision support systems to
help ICU staff maintain the patient’s glucose levels in optimal range. I
collaborate mainly with the GlucoSafe group that is based in Aarhus, Denmark.

When not desperately trying to understand
mathematics I enjoy the outdoors, volleyball and amateur acting.



New student – Christian

News Posted on Tue, October 17, 2017 13:10:22

This autumn, we welcome another new student in our group: Christian Simonsson

Hi!

My name is
Christian Simonsson and I will be doing my master thesis here in the ISB-group.
I am a 5th year engineering biology student with my master’s profile
being Materials and Sensors in Biomedince. For my master’s thesis I wanted to
do something a bit different from what I have been doing the last two years. Since
my Bachelor’s project was on the topic of systems biology, and since I have an
interest in modeling (in biology and physiology ), I was very pleased when I
was given the opportunity to do my thesis here in the ISB group.

Adiponectin, which is a hormone released by mature
adipocyte has been shown to have an important role in the development of type-2
diabetes. However, the precise underlying mechanisms for the production and
release of such hormones in adipocytes are not fully understood. Therefore, an
ongoing project in the ISB group has been to use mathematical modeling to
describe the exocytosis of white adipocytes to predict adiponectin secretion,
making it possible to quantify the exocytosis and endocytosis rates. An article
on the subject was recently published by William Lövfors et al and in my
project I will make use of the model presented in this article. The goal is to
extend the model to also describe the experimental data for adiponectin
secretion induced through the activation of beta-adrenergic signaling pathways
upon extracellular adrenalin stimulation. Hopefully this might contribute to
creating a more complete framework for understanding the regulation of this
important metabolic hormone.



New student – Victor

News Posted on Tue, October 17, 2017 11:01:01

This autumn, we welcome another new student in our group: Victor Viberg

Hi, my name is Victor Viberg. I’m studying
biomedical engineering at Linköping University, currently I’m working on my
master thesis in the ISB-group at IMT.

The goal of my project is to create a
model that can explain the metabolic fluxes of a cancer cell and how it differs
from a regular healthy cell. Hopefully this new insight will help in developing
more effective treatments for cancer. The model is based on isotropic labeling
of metabolites, and it is the first time this type of data is available for a
whole human cell. My work will build on the previous work of Nicolas Sundqvist.



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