Partial Differential Equations and Tissue-Level Mechanisms in Bioengineering

The search for “mechanisms” in biology has focused largely on molecular factors. But many aspects on development, both normal and pathological, can only be understood as tissue-scale phenomena, best modeled by Partial Differential Equations. We will discuss how PDE models provide the frameworks through which molecular and genetic factors must act. Examples will include the development of branching structures in the lung, the formation of “spotty” arterial and valvular calcification, and the emergence of collective “cell fate decisions”.