NIMBioS Seminar Series

In conjunction with the interdisciplinary activities of the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), a seminar series on topics in mathematical biology will be hosted at NIMBioS every other Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. (unless otherwise noted) in the Hallam Auditorium, Room 206, Claxton Building, 1122 Volunteer Blvd. Seminar speakers will focus on their research initiatives at the interface of mathematics and many areas of the life sciences. Light refreshments will be served in the 1st floor visitor breakroom beginning 30 minutes before each talk. Faculty and students from across the UT community are welcome to join us.

Time/Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2013, 3:30 p.m.*
Location: Room 105, Claxton Building, 1122 Volunteer Blvd.
Speaker: Dr. Jon Forde, Mathematics and Computer Science, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and NIMBioS Sabbatical Fellow.
Topic: Modeling the immune reaction to Hepatitis Delta infection
Abstract: Hepatitis Delta Virus (HDV) is a dependent satellite virus of the more common Hepatitis B Virus. HDV encodes only one protein of its own, relying on HBV to supply the additional proteins needed for its replication cycle. Although HDV is noncytotoxic and present few targets for immune reaction, the symptoms of patients with HBV-HDV co-infection are much worse than those infected with HBV alone. The cause of this negative outcome is not clear. This talk presents o.d.e. models for the interaction of HBV, HDV and the antigen-specific immune responses to explore recovery from T cell exhaustion as a possible explanation of negative outcomes in chronic HBV/HDV co-infection. Additionally, the role of the immune reaction in several other HDV-related phenomena will be discussed, including drug treatment failure and fluctuations in viral load.

*Join us for refreshments at 3 p.m. in the 1st floor visitor breakroom.

Seminar Flyer (pdf)

Watch seminar online.

For more information about this and other NIMBioS Seminars, visit /seminars.

NIMBioS
1122 Volunteer Blvd., Suite 106
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN 37996-3410
PH: (865) 974-9334
FAX: (865) 974-9461
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From 2008 until early 2021, NIMBioS was supported by the National Science Foundation through NSF Award #DBI-1300426, with additional support from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.