Date/Time
Date(s) - 03/03/2025
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Location
Communicore, C1-004
Engineering multicellular systems is enhanced by understanding how collective organization arises during developmental processes through mechanical, biochemical and electrical communication. Which aspects of these processes can be circumvented, accelerated or modified according to specification to yield robust, reproducible organoids? Computational models that simulate the growth, division, and differentiation of pluripotent cells into emergent structures could accelerate experimental design, yet currently lag in their ability to inform organoid culture protocols. I will discuss my lab’s computational results from developing agent-based models that capture heterogeneity and stochasticity within colonies and aggregates to both i) formulate hypotheses of intercellular communication during stem cell differentiation and ii) design new organoid structures using synthetic biology components. To address the challenges of agent-based model optimization, we have pursued new methods for analyzing microscopy images and simulation results by topological data analysis. Through a tight iteration between computation and experimentation, we established a critical role of intercellular transport, adhesion, and cell cycle asynchrony in the propagation of dynamic patterning in engineered iPSC systems.
Bio:
Melissa Kemp, Ph.D. is the Carol Ann and David D. Flanagan Endowed Chair in Biomedical Engineering in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, where she has been a member of the faculty since 2006. Her research focuses on the development of computational systems biology methods to investigate two overarching themes in cancer, immunology, and regenerative medicine applications: i) the role of cellular redox metabolism in influencing information processing and cell fate decisions; and ii) modes of communication that drive self-organization in multicellular engineered living systems. Dr. Kemp is currently the research director of the NSF Engineering Research Center in Cell Manufacturing Technologies and is the former co-chair of the NCI Cancer Systems Biology Consortium. She is the co-author of the 2025 textbook “A First Course in Systems Biology: 3rd Edition” by Voit & Kemp. Dr. Kemp’s career honors include Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Scholar and NIH New Innovator.