Math Biology Seminar: Joe Mahaffy

   
A mathematical model is developed for the morphogenesis of epidermal cells in the tunicate (Ciona intestinalis) into epidermal sensory neurons (ESNs). An introduction to the evolutionary significance of this morphogenesis problem is presented. A brief discussion of some neural development models is presented. Our model extends previous models of Notch-Delta signaling for neurogenesis to explain the sparse spatial pattern seen on the tails of developing embryos. The model is compared to a series of experiments and analyzed mathematically, including some bifurcation results.