Collective cell migration is a very common phenomenon, occurring in development, repair and disease. Here, I will consider two examples that use different modelling frameworks: (I) cranial neural crest cell migration in early development is an important process that also serves as a powerful model paradigm for collective cell migration. Using a multiscale agent-based model, I will show how the combination of theory and experiment has led to new biological insights; (ii) using a partial differential equation approach, I will show how cancer cell invasion may involve cooperation between different cell phenotypes.

Short Bio:

Professor Maini is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London (FRS). He is an elected member of the boards of the Society for Mathematical Biology and the European Society for Mathematical and Theoretical Biology. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), and the Royal Society of Biology, and is a corresponding member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences. He has held visiting positions at universities worldwide. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and a Foreign Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy. He is also a Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.