Math 49S, Spring 2007: Applications of Mathematics to
Physiology and Medicine
Instructor: Professor Michael C. Reed
Time: MWF 10:20 - 11:10AM
Physics Building, room 119.
Prerequistes: Math 32 or 32L or the equivalent, high
school biology, and an interest in human physiology.
Curriculum 2000 requirements: Math 49S fufills M, QID,
R, W, NS.
This seminar, open only to freshmen, will be offered in Spring 2006.
Topics usually include: the heart and circulation, heat and temperature
regulation, oxygenuptake in thelungs, the immune system and infectious
diseases,
nephrons and the kidney, ovulation number in mammals, chemistry and
cell
metabolism, sensory neurobiology. Other topics may be substituted
depending on the
interests of the students enrolled.
The structure of the course will be as follows. During the first
half the instructor will lecture and students will do background
reading and work in groups on problem sets, often presenting their
group work to the class. Before Spring Break, each student will choose
a
research project from a list of about 30 possible projects presented by
the instructor or create a project based on their own interests (with
the approval of the instructor). During the second half of the
semester, each student gives two 25 minute lectures to the seminar on
his or her research
project and writes a 20 page paper. There is no midterm. The
final exam
covers the problem sets from the first half of the semester.
Recent student research topics were: ``Mathematical Models
of the Control of Ovulation,'' ``Mathematics and Physiology of
the Human
Eye,'' ``The Vestibular System: the Center of All
Balance,'' ``Mechanical Heart Valves
and Models of Stenosis,''Mathematical Epidemic Models,'' ``Diabetes and
a
Mathematical Model of the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test,''
``Information Theory and
Molecular Biology,'' ``A Biological and Mathematical Analysis of HIV,''
``Mathematical Modeling of Muscle Crossbridge Dynamics,'' ``Information
Theory and
Molecular Biology,'' ``Two-step Chemotherapy, a Mathematical
Model,'' ``Increased Intracranial Pressure: A
Biological Investigation and a Mathematical Model,'' ``The
Immune
System: a Biological and Mathematical Explanation,'' ``Applications of
Mathematics to Animal Scaling,'' ``DNA Sequence Analysis and Pairwise
Alignment,'' ``How Do Fish School?,'' ``Evaluation of Different CPR Techniques.''