TEACHING ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY WITH THE AID OF MATHEMATICAL MODELS
TITLE:
TEACHING ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY WITH THE AID OF MATHEMATICAL MODELS
DATE:
Friday, April 9th, 2010
TIME:
3:30 PM
LOCATION:
GMCS 214
SPEAKER:
Jose L. Puglisi, Research Assistant Scientist
Department of Pharmacology, University of California Davis
ABSTRACT:
Teaching Biology in general and Electrophysiology in particular presents the challenge of illustrating the complex dynamics of living organisms. Traditional ways of lecturing lacks the power of showing the non linear interaction among these mechanisms. Mathematical models constitute a novel tool for educators to show this intrinsic characteristic of biological systems. Three examples will be discussed during this seminar: LabAXON, an implementation of the classical Hodgkin & Huxley equations for the giant squid axon. LabHEART, a comprehensive model of the cardiac action potential and finally MarkoLAB, a graphical interface to study stochastic channel behavior. These programs posses the characteristics of being scientifically accurate combined with intuitive menus that facilitate the interaction with the user. The topics covered by these programs range from the initial Hodgkin & Huxley formulation to the most recent state diagram representation. The user-friendly interface of these programs solidifies the learning process by allowing students to effortlessly recreate key experiments in the field.
HOST:
David Torres Barba
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