PHT180 Research Vitals with Dr Kara Maki
Speaker: Kara Maki
Topic: A mathematical model of particle deposition in the human lung
Abstract: The effectiveness of aerosolized drug delivery for respiratory diseases is complicated by variations in anatomy, physiology, and behavior among age groups. In this PHT180 Research Vitals, I will present a mathematical model to predict particle deposition in adult lungs. The model is derived by coupling dynamic respiratory mechanics with particle dynamics. I will demonstrate how our predictions match some published adult deposition trends, both experimental and theoretical, and our next steps to achieve our long-term goal of designing a drug-aerosolizing device suitable for infants and toddlers.
Bio: Dr. Kara L. Maki is an Associate Professor in the School of Mathematics and Statistics, the Director of the Applied and Computational Mathematics MS Program, and the Director of the SMASH Experience for Girls at RIT. Her research efforts focus on developing mathematical models to understand thin systems involving the flows of biological and/or complex fluids, and the mechanics of biocompatible materials. The specific problems she works on include designing comfortable contact lenses; understanding the causes of dry eye disease; controlling droplets and manipulating particles inside lab-on-a-chip devices; and, most recently delivering pulmonary drugs efficiently to pediatric patients. Dr. Maki received her Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Delaware in 2009. She completed a two-year postdoctoral position at the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications at the University of Minnesota. In 2011, she joined the faculty at Rochester Institute of Technology.
Please join us in Institute Hall Room 1180; registration is not required. If attending via Zoom, please register your attendance.
Light refreshments will be served.
To request an interpreter, please email pht180@rit.edu.
Event Snapshot
When and Where
Who
Open to the Public
Interpreter Requested?
No