Modelling the development of muscle tissue.
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Applications are invited for a PhD studentship with Biomathematics and
Statistics Scotland (BioSS), to be supervised by Graham Horgan (BioSS),
Paul Garthwaite (University of Aberdeen) and Charlotte Maltin (Rowett
Research Institute).

Muscle tissue is composed of long cells, termed fibres, of which there
are a number of types. These cells differ in how they use energy, and in
their ability to endure long periods of use. An understanding of  the
anatomy and physiology of muscle tissue has relevance to human health
and to the breeding and management of farm animals. However, it is
difficult to study growing muscles. Samples of muscle tissue can be
examined under a microscope, but it is not possible to observe fibres at
different stages of development.  The processes whereby muscle tissue
forms and develops are known: they start as primary fibres around which
secondary fibres form, while both fibre types expand. Many functions and
parameters are involved in these processes but they cannot be observed
directly - we can only measure the geometry of the resulting muscle
tissue. The aim of this project is to use models of fibre growth and
development to understand how aspects of this process affect the
resulting muscles.

It is expected that the theories of stochastic processes and geometric
probability will be relevant to this research. Geometric probability
deals with random occurrences and arrangements of points, lines and
other objects in space. Models such as tesselations based on marked
point processes are a possible starting point for modelling muscle
tissue, but would need to be extended to incorporate the way that tissue
grows and develops. The post will be based at the BioSS unit at the
Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen, which has an ongoing programme of
research on muscle function and development. Many muscle section images
and summaries are available for model fitting and validation. If
necessary, it will be possible for this project to involve the practical
collection of additional microscope data.

If you are interested, please contact

Graham Horgan
Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland
The Rowett Research Institute
Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB21 9SB, Scotland

e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Tel: +44 (0) 1224 716678
Fax: +44 (0) 1224 716608


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