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GEM⁴ Summer School 2006: Schedule, Days 6–10

For the most recent schedule, please see the GEM⁴ Summer School Brochure/Agenda (PDF).

Day 6 – Monday, August 14th

8:30 AM – 12:00 noon (with a 15-minute coffee break)

Session on Cell Biomechanics:
Cell membrane mechanics
Cytoskeleton structure and mechanics – actin, keratin, tubulins and microtubule properties
Time-dependent response of cell deformation; cytoskeletal dynamics
Cell adhesion and aggregation - Receptor-ligand interactions; focal adhesions
Measurements of cell adhesion forces and kinetics
Forces and intracellular signaling
Cell motility

12:00 noon – 2:00 PM

Lunch and poster set up

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Tutorial Session: Case studies on inflammation and mechanotransduction
Ppossible connection between mechanical signal and inflammatory processes within tissue
Mechanical property and inflammatory/repair processes
Adhesion of cells within the framework of the immune system structure/ functions
Mechanics of endocytosis and viral budding

4:00 PM – 7:00 PM (food and drink will be provided)

Poster Session: each trainee presents a poster and instructors/other trainees will discuss/critique
Teaming of Trainees (4 per group); selection of research topic

Day 7 – Tuesday, August 15th

8:30 AM – 12:00 noon (with a 15-minute coffee break)

Session on Connective Tissue Mechanics:
Elastic and viscoelastic response of connective tissues
Review of basic mechanics
Poroelasticity; Darcy's Law; Hydraulic Permeability

Tissue Mechanics and Case Studies in Human Health:
Arthritis and joint regeneration
Corneal Dystrophy
Tendon, ligament, cartilage, bone

12:00 noon – 1:30 PM

Lunch

1:30 PM – 5:00 PM

General discussion of the dynamics of infectious diseases
Beyond single organism, discuss infection mechanisms and epidemiology/population dynamics

Day 8 – Wednesday, August 16th

8:30 AM – 12:00 noon (with a 15-minute coffee break)

General Session on Molecular Biomechanics:
Molecular biomechanics
Polymer chains, statistics of random walks, persistence length, Boltzmann distribution, freely jointed chain, worm-like chain model
Protein conformational dynamics, the role of force in protein-protein interactions
Motility at the macromolecular level
Polymerization forces
Motor molecules and protein nanomachines

12:00 noon – 1:30 PM

Lunch

1:30 PM – 5:00 PM

Applications and Case Studies:
Case studies on molecular biomechanics and its linkage to infectious diseases
Molecular biomechanics issues in viral replication and viral packaging
Molecular pathways in infectious diseases
Molecular aspects in therapeutics and vaccine design

Day 9 – Thursday, August 17th

8:30 AM – 12:00 noon (with a 15-minute coffee break)

Session on Computational Biomechanics:
Continuum computational simulations of cells
Continuum computational simulations of cell motility
Molecular level simulations of proteins and subcellular structures
Computations of protein folding and unfolding
Multi-scale simulation and modeling in mechanobiology

12:00 noon – 1:30 PM

Lunch

1:30 PM – 5:00 PM

Statistical mechanics and the mammal immune system, with a focus on the leucocyte lineages
Integration across scales from molecular biology to physiology and pathophysiology

Day 10 – Friday, August 18th

8:30 AM – 12:00 noon (with a 15-minute coffee break)

Summary session:
8:30 – 11:00 Trainee presentation – 15 minutes per group
11:00 – 12:00 noon Summary and discussion

12:00 noon –2:00 PM

Lunch

2:00 PM

Summer school adjourns