Thomas Hillen

This monograph considers the mathematical modeling of cellular adhesion, a key interaction force in cell biology. While deeply grounded in the biological application of cell adhesion and tissue formation, this monograph focuses on the mathematical analysis of non-local adhesion models. The novel aspect is the non-local term (an integral operator), which accounts for forces generated by long ranged cell interactions. The analysis of non-local models has started only recently, and it has become a vibrant area of applied mathematics. This monograph contributes a systematic analysis of steady states and their bifurcation structure, combining global bifurcation results pioneered by Rabinowitz, equivariant bifurcation theory, and the symmetries of the non-local term. These methods allow readers to analyze and understand cell adhesion on a deep level.

This monograph considers the mathematical modeling of cellular adhesion, a key interaction force in cell biology. While deeply grounded in the biological application of cell adhesion and tissue formation, this monograph focuses on the mathematical analysis of non-local adhesion models. The novel aspect is the non-local term (an integral operator), which accounts for forces generated by long ranged cell interactions. The analysis of non-local models has started only recently, and it has become a vibrant area of applied mathematics. This monograph contributes a systematic analysis of steady states and their bifurcation structure, combining global bifurcation results pioneered by Rabinowitz, equivariant bifurcation theory, and the symmetries of the non-local term. These methods allow readers to analyze and understand cell adhesion on a deep level.

The aim of these lecture notes is to give an introduction to several mathematical models and methods that can be used to describe the behaviour of living systems. This emerging field of application intrinsically requires the handling of phenomena occurring at different spatial scales and hence the use of multiscale methods. Modelling and simulating the mechanisms that cells use to move, self-organise and develop in tissues is not only fundamental to an understanding of embryonic development, but is also relevant in tissue engineering and in other environmental and industrial processes involving the growth and homeostasis of biological systems. Growth and organization processes are also important in many tissue degeneration and regeneration processes, such as tumour growth, tissue vascularization, heart and muscle functionality, and cardio-vascular diseases.