Multimodal Simulation of the Phage-λ

Decision Cycle

Ryan Imms

Biomedical Simulation

What is Biomedical Simulation?

Why should we use it?

What benefits does it offer?

Viral Reproduction

Two methods of reproduction for

viral cells after initial infection

Depending on the virus,

environmental conditions can be

critical

Wikipedia

Phage-λ

Myers, 2007

Modelling Stages

Intention is to reduce

simulation time without a loss

of accuracy.

Refinements in modelling

techniques allow marked

improvements to be made

Each of these techniques is

probabilistic, requiring

multiple simulation runs to

acquire an accurate set of

data.

Model Purpose

Recreate the work outlined in “Engineering Genetic Circuits” by Myers using non-specialist packages.

Lay the groundwork for further biological modelling using these same packages.

Open the field of biological modelling to an increased range of individuals.

Model Realisation

Model Parameterisation

Surface plot showing activity of a specific promoter at varying levels of expression of two proteins. Modelled in MATLAB to determine threshold values used to control expression in the finite state machine.

Results

Results from simulation of the Phage-λ stochastic Finite State Machine. Reasonable at low phage inputs, loses accuracy at higher initial concentrations. Likely to be caused by a combination of incorrectly chosen boundary conditions.

Model Limitations

Explicit knowledge required for exact

replication of real world.

Assumptions may severely reduce accuracy

or validity of results.

More complex systems can still require

excessive amounts of time to simulate.

Further Applications

Genetic Disorders

Congenital Disease

Virology Studies

Thank You for Listening