Events

Keisha Cook

Clemson University
Colloquia

When

Date: Wednesday, April 13, 2022
Time: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Location: Virtual through Zoom
Keisha Cook is an assistant professor in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences. Cook earned three degrees from the University of Alabama—bachelor’s and master’s degrees in applied mathematics, and a doctorate in applied mathematics and computational biology. Her primary research area is stochastic processes, probability and mathematical modeling. Biologically, she studies the transport of organelles in live cells. Mathematically, they simulate intracellular processes and develop methodologies to statistically analyze and infer the underlying properties that influence their transport.

Live cell imaging and single particle tracking techniques have become increasingly popular amongst the mathematical biology community. Lysosomes, known for endocytosis, phagocytic destruction, and autophagy, move about the cell along microtubules. Intracellular transport of lysosomes is carried out in membrane-bound vesicles through the use of motor proteins. Single particle tracking methods utilize stochastic models to simulate intracellular transport and give rise to rigorous analysis of the resulting properties, specifically related to transitioning between inactive to active states. We find confidence in our methodology and develop simulations to capture these properties at multiple frames rates. Determining an optimal frame rate for capturing live cell data is necessary in order to successfully infer properties or the underlying mechanisms. We rely on an optimal frame rate to extract properties about the microtubule network of the cell.