Math can help uncover cancer's secrets | Irina Kareva
Irina Kareva translates biology into mathematics and vice versa. She writes mathematical models that describe the dynamics of cancer, with the goal of developing new drugs that target tumors....
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I am a translator. I translate from biology into mathematics and vice versa. I write mathematical models which, in my case, are systems of differential equations, to describe biological mechanisms, such as cell growth. Essentially, it works like this. First, I identify the key elements that I believe may be driving behavior over time of a particular mechanism. Then, I formulate assumptions about how these elements interact with each other and with their environment. It may look something like this. Then, I translate these assumptions into equations, which may look something like this. Finally, I analyze my equations and translate the results back into the language of biology. A key aspect of mathematical modeling is that we, as modelers, do not ...
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I am a translator. I translate from biology into mathematics and vice versa. I write mathematical models which, in my case, are systems of differential equations, to describe biological mechanisms, such as cell growth. Essentially, it works like this. First, I identify the key elements that I believe may be driving behavior over time of a particular mechanism. Then, I formulate assumptions about how these elements interact with each other and with their environment. It may look something like this. Then, I translate these assumptions into equations, which may look something like this. Finally, I analyze my equations and translate the results back into the language of biology. A key aspect of mathematical modeling is that we, as modelers, do not ...
