Women in Math Committee Event | Ami Radunskaya, Of Mice and Math: four models, four collaborations

Please register here: https://ticketfi.com/event/4342/wim-fall-colloquium-2021 

Speaker

Ami Radunskaya | Professor of Mathematics, President of the EDGE (Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education) Foundation 

Past President of the Association of Women in Mathematics  

Title

Of Mice and Math: four models, four collaborations

Abstract

The title is meant to suggest that mathematics can be a link between experimental science and practical medicine, although in reality only a few mice will actually appear in this talk. I hope to tell you a story of discovery through interdisciplinary collaboration. In this talk I will show examples, through some of my own collaborations, of the role that mathematics can play in bridging the gaps between laboratory experiments, clinical studies, and the development of treatment strategies.  To give you a taste, some of the questions we have worked on are: How can we make the ideal time-release tablet? How much blood-thinner should we prescribe? What are the best shoes to wear to improve your balance? When do we need to perform a Caesarian? These problems illustrate different modeling modalities and different mathematical techniques used to reach different goals, but all of them bridge the gap from bench to bedside, and beyond.

Biography

A California native, Professor Ami Radunskaya received her Ph.D. in Mathematics from Stanford University.  She has been a faculty member in the Math Department at Pomona College since 1994.   In her research, she specializes  in ergodic theory, dynamical systems, and applications to various "real-world" problems.  Some current research projects involve mathematical models of cancer immunotherapy, developing strategies for targeted drug delivery to the brain, and studying stochastic perturbations of dynamical systems. Professor Radunskaya believes strongly in the power of collaboration and that everyone can learn to enjoy mathematics; as President of the Association of Women in Mathematics, she encouraged collaborative research, international outreach and cooperation between all the mathematical societies.    She is the President of the EDGE (Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education) Foundation, whose summer program won a "Mathematics Program that Makes a Difference" award from the American Mathematics Society  in 2007, and a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) in 2017.

Professor Radunskaya is a 2021 Fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics, a Fellow of the American Math Society, and she is the recipient of several awards, including a WIG teaching award in  2012,  the 2017 AAAS Mentor  award, and the 2020 Intercollegiate Biomathematics Alliance Distinguished Senior Fellowship.  She was featured in the documentary, “The Empowerment Project: ordinary women doing extraordinary things”, as well as in the 2020 book:  “Power in  Numbers: the Rebel Women of Mathematics”.