Launched in 2022, Dynamics Club is a UCLA-based forum for junior scientists to discuss nonlinear dynamics in biology and physiology. Starting from 2024, this is also the home for the Interoception Dynamics Affinity Group.

Our monthly seminars are mostly on Zoom, with hybrid access to in-person events. Campus visits are made possible by the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology (IBP), Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences (QCBio) and Brain Research Institute (BRI).

Currently, we have 328 members. If you’re new, sign up here!

   

Job opportunities:

   

Key References (PDFs are available online):

Modeling Life by Alan Garfinkel, Jane Shetsov and Yina Guo (Teaching Materials)

   

Interoception Dynamics in May:

Sleep is for brain cleaning: investigating drivers of the glymphatic system

Speaker: Natalie Hauglund, PhD (Postdoctoral Fellow; Oxford University)

Date and Time: May 7 (Wednesday) at 9am Pacific Time / 5pm British Summer Time

Virtual event on Zoom (Meeting ID: 975 1555 3790; Passcode: 749111)

Abstract:
As the brain transitions from wakefulness to sleep, processing of external information diminishes while restorative processes, such as glymphatic removal of waste products, are activated. Yet, it is not known what drives brain clearance during sleep. We here employed an array of technologies and identified tightly synchronized oscillations in norepinephrine, cerebral blood volume, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) as the strongest predictors of glymphatic clearance during NREM sleep. Optogenetic stimulation of the locus coeruleus induced anti-correlated changes in vasomotion and CSF signal. Furthermore, stimulation of arterial oscillations enhanced CSF inflow, demonstrating that vasomotion acts as a pump driving CSF into the brain. On the contrary, the sleep aid zolpidem suppressed norepinephrine oscillations and glymphatic flow, highlighting the critical role of norepinephrine-driven vascular dynamics in brain clearance. Thus, the micro-architectural organization of NREM sleep, driven by norepinephrine fluctuations and vascular dynamics, is a key determinant for glymphatic clearance.

DynamicsClub

   

Scheduled Sessions:

Date Topic Speaker(s)
May Guest Lecture: Topology changes of Hydra define actin orientation defects as organizers of morphogenesis Dr. Daniel Pearce (UNIGE)
Jun 12 Mechano-Electro-Chemical Coupling in Neuromodulation and Neuronal Injury Dr. Casey Adam
(Purdue University)
Jul Guest Lecture: TBA Dr. Kirstin Meyer
(Yale University)
Jul Robust and resource-optimal dynamic pattern formation of Min proteins in vivo Michael Sandler
(UCSD)
Aug Sleep microstructure organizes memory replay Dr. Wenbo Tang
(Cornell University)
Aug 21 TBD Dr. David Chen
(Temple University)
Sep A mechanism for slow rhythms in coordinated pancreatic islet activity Dr. Nicole Bruce (University of Tennessee)
Oct Self-organized tissue mechanics underlie embryonic regulation Dr. Paolo Caldarelli (Caltech)

Past Events in 2025:

Date Topic Speaker(s) Materials
Jan 22 Imaging cAMP Signaling Dynamics in the Heart: Exploring Sympathetic Responses in Real Time Jessica Caldwell, PhD (UC Davis) Pubmed
Feb 7 State-Dependent Taste Modulation: Mechanisms of Sodium Appetite and Tolerance Yameng Zhang (Oka Lab; Caltech) Pubmed
Mar 5 Cell signaling in “4D”: Dynamic p53 post-translational modifications regulate cell fate Dan Lu, PhD (Harvard Medical School) Pubmed
Mar 20 Exploring the developmental roles of glia in the heart Sarah Light, PhD (Notre Dame) Pubmed
Apr 30 Detecting patterns and disruptions in spontaneous physiological fluctuations in the kidney using MRI Edwin Baldelomar, PhD (WashU) Pubmed

   

Past Events in 2024

Past Events in 2023

Past Events in 2022