Dynamics Club
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 338 members. If you’re new, sign up here!
Job opportunities:
- A postdoctoral position is available with Dr. Natalie Porat-Shliom at NIH/NCI (Microscopy)
- A postdoctoral position is available with Dr. Catera Wilder at UCSF (Details)
- A postdoctoral position is available with Dr. Paul François at Université de Montréal (Details)
Key References (PDFs are available online):
Modeling Life by Alan Garfinkel, Jane Shetsov and Yina Guo (Teaching Materials)
Interoception Dynamics in June:
Mechano-Electro-Chemical Coupling in Neuromodulation and Neuronal Injury
Speaker: Casey Adam, DPhil (Postdoctoral Researcher; Purdue University)
Date and Time: Jun 12 (Thursday) at 11am Pacific Time / 2pm Eastern Time
Hybrid event: Boyer Hall 554 and on Zoom (Meeting ID: 925 1154 9396; Passcode: 444026)
Abstract:
The chemical, electrical, mechanical, and magnetic properties of biological systems are coupled, meaning that changes in any of these properties influence all others. This coupling dictates how biological systems respond to and propagate stimuli and is characterized by time delays known as time responses. Recent efforts in neuromodulation, cancer treatment, and spinal cord injury therapies that exploit the coupling of properties in biological systems for disease treatment have shown promise in improving quality of life and partially alleviating pathological changes. However, these treatments are not completely effective because the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood, likely because treatment effects are often studied in isolation, and not from the perspective of mechano-electro-chemical coupling. Better understanding of how properties couple in biological systems, especially the link between time responses and cell behavior would help improve treatment design and efficacy. In this work, mechanoelectric coupling is measured by treating cells or ECM samples with different electrical stimuli and measuring the resulting changes in cell and tissue viscoelasticity. Mechano-electro-chemical coupling is studied by measuring how different chemical treatments affect neuron firing, neuron viscoelasticity, and tissue viscoelasticity. In particular, the effect of acellular components of tissue, anesthetics, ultrasound neuromodulation, and injury on cell viscoelasticity and behavior are assessed. The combined results suggest that time response alterations regulate cell activities and tissue health, that different types of stimuli that influence cell behaviors also modulate time responses, and that direct modulation of cell and tissue time responses may be the key to regulating cell behavior in disease treatment.
Scheduled Sessions:
| Date | Topic | Speaker(s) |
| Jul | Guest Lecture: Optogenetic control of YAP reveals dynamic communication code for stem cell fate and proliferation | Dr. Kirstin Meyer (Yale University) |
| Aug | Sleep microstructure organizes memory replay | Dr. Wenbo Tang (Cornell University) |
| Aug 21 | Coordination and propagation of cell fate choice in neural circuit assembly | 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) |
| Oct | Neurophysiological principles of reward | Dr. Annie Park (Oxford University) |
| 2025 | Robust and resource-optimal dynamic pattern formation of Min proteins in vivo | Michael Sandler (UCSD) |
| 2025 | Guest Lecture: Topology changes of Hydra define actin orientation defects as organizers of morphogenesis | Dr. Daniel Pearce (UNIGE) |
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 |
| May 7 | Sleep is for brain cleaning: investigating drivers of the glymphatic system | Natalie Hauglund, PhD (Oxford) | Pubmed |
Past Events in 2024
Past Events in 2023
Past Events in 2022