Project for Bachelor or Master thesis

Relation between metabolic activity and cellular temperature regulation

Cellular heat and temperature is balanced through heat production, mainly through metabolic activity, and heat loss through conduction, convection, and evaporation. In turn, changes in temperature, either caused internally or imposed through external sources, affect metabolic activity. In collaboration with colleagues from Chemistry and Physics, we plan to measure such changes and local gradients of temperature. The aim of this project is to use mathematical modeling of metabolic network dynamics to predict the expected effect of metabolic activity on entropy production and heat regulation. Using specific, well-defined models of central carbon metabolism and specific pathways, the entropy production and the resulting change in heat shall be calculated and compared to experimental data. Eventually, this project aims to enlighten important regulation processes that are relevant, for example, in cancer cells which are known to have higher metabolic activity and to produce more heat than surrounding tissue. However, balancing of temperature and metabolic activity is also highly relevant for plants exposed to changing external temperatures, daily, annually and during climate change.

Requirements: Interest in mathematical modeling of cell processes, basic programming skills, interest in challenging biological questions. Given teaching content, biophysics students would have the required background.

Skills you will acquire: Learn how to formulate testable scientific questions. Improve your programming skills. Cooperation in an interdisciplinary field

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