Biodynamics 2018 Conference

Chair: Professor Zoran Cvetkovic

Unravelling mechanisms of movement control and how they are disrupted in individuals with movement disorders requires holistic interdisciplinary approaches. This session represents an overview of the field and recent research advances in computational motor control, motor neurophysiology, brain networks and clinical neurophysiology, aiming to spur some new synergies in this very complex and exciting field.

Chair: Professor Franca Fraternali

Progresses in Translational Medicine will have to proceed hand-in-hand with the discovery of the molecular mechanisms underlying the cell pathological states. Dissecting these, together with the introduction of molecular diagnostics into medical practice, will result essential in the annotation of disease pathogenesis and in the design of tailored and effective patient treatments.

This workshop will be dedicated to highlight some of the recent discoveries of molecular mechanisms playing a role in neurodegenerative disorders and cancer. We will highlight the importance of biophysical, analytical and computational tools in assessing and quantifying these mechanisms.

Chair: Dr Ivana Rosenzweig

The emerging field of neuronal oscillations provides an exciting interdisciplinary platform that cuts across physics, neuroscience, neuromodulation, sleep medicine, psychology, biophysics, computational modelling and mathematics. Mammalian cortical neurons form oscillating networks of various sizes, and resulting neural oscillations are known to be phylogenetically preserved, and likely functionally relevant. This session will provide an overview of the recent research advances in understanding their physiological mechanisms and functions, as well as highlight some possible ground-breaking possibilities, which neuromodulation might provide for the diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders.

Chair: Professor Kevin O’Byrne

Stress has deleterious effects on the brain including dynamic morphological changes that impact on various key functions including cognition and memory, mental health and fertility. This symposium will focus on mathematical modelling and function of dynamic glucocorticoid and reproductive hormone secretion, neuroplastic adaptations of stress neurocircuits, and the role of chemosensory communication in promotion of stress-adaptive behaviours that may aid our survival.

Chair: Dr Steven Niederer

Computational models provide a mathematical framework for integrating data from an individual patient and interpreting it within the context of known physical laws and physiology. Patient specific models can then be used to analyse an individual patient to identify the mechanisms underpinning their pathology, to provide inferred measurements such as muscle stress or work, or to predict how a patient will respond to a therapy. This session will provide a broad review exemplar applications of computational modelling across the fields of muscle-skeletal, cardiac, cardiovascular and drug delivery.