(2il) Howsmon Laboratory: Systems Biology and Biomedical Signals

Research Interests: My research interests encompass mathematical modeling of biological systems (systems biology) and biomedical signal processing.

Mathematical modeling of biological systems traditionally relies on extensive literature curation and/or a plethora of assumptions regarding model parameters, neither of which is ideal for modeling signal transduction in a particular cell type or in cells from a particular organism. Recent advances in “-omics” technology, including (phospho-)proteomics, allow large amount of data on signal transduction mechanisms to be collected without necessarily knowing a priori which post-translational modifications in a signaling cascade should be investigated. In this research effort, we are collecting phosphor-proteomic time courses via a data independent acquisition (DIA) proteomics strategy and identifying signal transduction models specific to the cell-type and organism under investigation. Perturbations of key proteins/model states allows us to validate the identified models. Our current application for modeling biological systems concerns signal transduction in heart valve interstitial cells for the identification of therapeutic targets for calcific aortic valve disease. We are also developing new techniques for identifying or augmenting signal transduction models directly from phosphor-proteomics data.

Our efforts in biomedical signal processing seek to develop techniques for predicting adverse events in biomedical scenarios or evaluate differences in biomedical signals to determine the most effective treatment strategy. Our current efforts in biomedical signal processing seek to alert clinicians to possible catheter-related thrombosis events in pediatric cardiac intensive care patients and in evaluating competing strategies for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Teaching Interests: I am passionate about connecting rigorous chemical engineering-based techniques in modeling, simulation, and control with biological and biomedical systems. I firmly believe that the rigorous engineering fundamentals provided by chemical engineering will shape the pharmaceutical discovery, drug administration, and biomedical signal monitoring processes of the future. I have taught a two-week miniseries on modeling cell signaling processes as part of a larger semester-long course on mathematical physiology for the past four years, solidifying my enthusiasm for this subject. I am also interested in teaching process control, introduction to chemical engineering, and numerical methods classes.