The Society for Mathematical Biology 2014 Lee Segel Prize has been awarded to two Heriot-Watt researchers for their paper entitled: A Hybrid Discrete-Continuum Mathematical Model of Pattern Prediction in the Developing Retinal Vasculature.
The paper was the result of collaborative research funded by BBSRC (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council) and was co-authored by Dr Steven McDougall and Dr Michael Watson (Heriot-Watt University), Dr Andrea Devlin and Dr Christopher Mitchell (University of Ulster) and Professor Mark Chaplain, University of Dundee.
This impressive paper develops and applies a hybrid discrete-continuum model for predicting the spatial patterns that characterise the developing retinal vasculature. ... The result is a visually stunning simulation study with close ties to experimental data.
Society for Mathematical Biology
- S.R. McDougall, M.G. Watson, A.H. Devlin, C.A. Mitchell, M.A.J. Chaplain. 'A hybrid discrete-continuum mathematical model of pattern prediction,' Bull Math Biol (2012) 74:2272-2314.
Citation
The Segel Prize Committee said "This impressive paper develops and applies a hybrid discrete-continuum model for predicting the spatial patterns that characterise the developing retinal vasculature. It links together careful experimentation with detailed model development to understand the dynamics of retinal development. The result is a visually stunning simulation study with close ties to experimental data."
About the research
Dr. Steven McDougall is a Reader in the Institute of Petroleum Engineering and is lead researcher on several projects utilising innovative modelling techniques to understand the fundamental recovery mechanisms governing multiphase displacements in hydrocarbon reservoirs.
Although his main area of research expertise relates to multi-scale modelling of fluid flow in porous media, his more recent work has focussed upon transferring pore network modelling techniques to problems in mathematical biology; specifically, to the modelling of cell migration assays and adaptive blood flow through tumours, wounds, and retinae.
Prize
The Best Paper Award consists of $3,000 USD and an invitation for one of the authors to present the paper at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Society for Mathematical Biology, held jointly with the Japanese Society of Mathematical Biology, in Osaka, Japan, 28th-29th July.
Society for Mathematical Biology (SMB)
The Society for Mathematical Biology is an international society which exists to promote and foster interactions between the mathematical and biological sciences communities through membership, journal publications, travel support and conferences.