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Workshop 6: Transport in a cell (April 12-15, 2010)

Organizers: Anatoly Kolomeisky and Michael Diehl

Biological cells are complex non-equilibrium systems that cannot survive without efficient supplying of the necessary compounds and removing of wasteful or harmful molecules. A remarkable feature of biological transport is very high efficiency and selectivity, and robustness, i.e., its ability to adjust to fluctuations in cellular environment. Cell transport mechanisms fall into two categories: passive and active transport. In passive transport the molecules are moved by utilizing the concentration and/or electric potential gradients, while active transport utilizes a complex network of biochemical transitions of enzymes to extract energy (typically from ATP hydrolysis) in order to move particles against the gradients and external forces. The motion of molecules in cells also involves cytoskeleton proteins that not only provide molecular tracks for transportation, but also actively participate in transport processes. Understanding mechanisms of transport phenomena has important implications for all cellular processes and for development of new methods to treat many diseases.

One of the most important components of biological transport systems are motor proteins. Motor proteins are enzyme molecules that convert the chemical energy into the mechanical motion. There are significant recent experimental advances in the investigation of these proteins that allowed viewing the dynamics at a single-molecule level. These developments stimulated a lot of efforts to model motor proteins. However, the level of theoretical description is still mostly phenomenological. There is a need for more detailed and more microscopic theoretical models. It seems that it is now a right time to have a workshop that would combine mathematicians and experimentalists working in the area of motor proteins.

Another important subject of biological transport is the translocation of large biomolecules via membrane pores. Recent in vitro experiments investigated in detail the motion of DNA and RNA molecules via alpha-hemolysin membrane proteins. These experiments, that measure the blockages in current through these channels, raised the fundamental question on what is important in the transport of these polymers. At the same time theoretical side of these problems are studied to less degree. It is reasonable to suggest that this subject will greatly benefit from the workshop that combines theoretical and experimental researchers.

For a long time it was assumed that large water-filled channels in membranes act as molecular sieves. However, recent experiments suggest that the molecules moving through these membrane pores experience a specific interaction with the walls that lead to efficient and selective transport. What are the mechanisms of these phenomena remains unclear. There is a strong need for the people from mathematics field to get involved into this area to further advance our under standing of the biological transport.

Thus we propose that for this workshop to focus on the following areas:

  1. Theoretical Modeling of Motor Protein and Cytoskeleton Dynamics.
  2. Experimental Investigations of Motor Proteins.
  3. Channel-Facilitated Membrane Transport.
  4. Translocation of molecules across Biological and Artificial Nanopores and Channels.
  5. Experimental Studies of Cytoskeleton Protein Dynamics.
The workshop will bring together experimental and theoretical scientists working on problems of transport processes in cells. We expect that theoretical modelers will use stochastic processes, network theories, elements of graph theory, discrete mathematics, optimization, control theory, methods of statistical mechanics, and computer science approaches. We anticipate also introduction of new mathematical methods for solving complex biological problems discussed in this Workshop. The cooperation between mathematic modeling and experimental methods is critical for further development of this field.

Accepted Speakers

  • Charles Brooks (Chemistry, University of Michigan)
  • Debashish Chowdhury (Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur)
  • John Cooper (Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine)
  • Michael Fisher (Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland)
  • Vladimir Gelfand (Cell and Molecular Biology, Northwestern University)
  • Arne Gennerich (Anatomy and Structural Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine)
  • William Guilford (Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia)
  • Alan Hunt (Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan)
  • Alexei Kornyshev (Chemistry, Imperial College London)
  • Jed Macosko (Physics, Wake Forest University)
  • Liviu Movileanu (Physics, Syracuse University)
  • Alexander Nemukhin (Chemistry, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University)
  • David Odde (Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota)
  • Jose Onuchic (CTBP & Physics Department, University of California, San Diego)
  • Erwin Peterman (Physics and Astronomy, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
  • Sarah Rice (Cell Biology, Northwestern University)
  • Paul Selvin (Physics, University of Illinois)
  • David Sept (Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan)
  • Sean Sun (Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University)
  • Peter Vekilov (Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and Chemistry, University of Houston)
  • Kristen Verhey (Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School)

Accepted Participants

  • Jonathan Driver (Bioengineering, Rice University)
  • Kenneth Jamison (Bioengineering, Rice University)
  • Iris Meier (MG/PCMB, Ohio State University)
  • Matthew Zimmerman (Bioengineering, Rice University)