MaPSS: Mathematics Postgraduate Seminar Series: Pooladvand -- Modelling Diffusion of Anti-Cancer Viruses in Solid Tumours

Dear All, 

We are delighted to present the MaPSS Seminar topic of Monday 04/09; please see the
abstract below.  

**This Semester the Seminar will always run on Monday, at 5:00pm in 535A** 

Following the talk, there will be pizza on offer.  

Speaker: Pantea Pooladvand (Sydney University) 

Title: Modelling Diffusion of Anti-Cancer Viruses in Solid Tumours 

Abstract: One of the biggest barriers in treating solid tumours is the inability of
therapeutic vectors to propagate throughout the tumour mass due to the high density of
the tumour and tumour stroma.  The dense nature of many solid tumours can be attributed
to an over-expression of a collection of molecules known as the extracellular matrix
(ECM).  This thick and compact structure acts as a physical barrier for many treatments
by shielding the malignant cells and reducing drug penetration and efficacy.  One
method, used to tackle the lack of diffusion of therapeutic vectors, is by treating the
tumour with an oncolytic adenovirus as they are incredibly small and should be able to
diffuse more efficiently throughout the tumour mass.  However, biologist find that
treatment with oncolytic viruses still lacks diffusion and penetration in solid
tumours.  In this presentation we aim to model the interaction between the ECM and the
virus population.  We ask the question: how does the ECM affect the diffusion of the
virus? 

Supervisors, please encourage your students to attend.  

Thanks, MaPSS Organizers