The aim of this Faraday Partnership project is to develop mathematical models of predictive value in determining risks associated with chronic exposure to particular classes of chemicals, or to chemical mixtures. Asymptotic and numerical methods will be used to study the complex dynamics of in vitro response of human tissue exposed to toxic chemicals; multi-scale modelling and integrative biology will enable experimental results to be scaled up to make predictions of behaviour in vivo. The models developed in this work will play a crucial complementary role in the use of human tissue culture in place of animal testing, in particular in low dose chronic exposure to solvents and pesticides.

Project staff and support

Angharad Lamb (Postgraduate Faraday Associate, University of Nottingham)
John King (Academic supervisor, University of Nottingham)
Susan Franks (Industrial supervisor, Health and Safety Laboratory)
Tim Boxer (Technology Translator, Smith Institute)

This project is being carried out at the University of Nottingham, in conjunction with HSL. It is supported by an EPSRC industrial CASE award, made available through the Faraday Partnership for Industrial Mathematics. Start date: October 2004; duration: 3 years.