Mary Myerscough (University of Sydney)
Helen Byrne (University of Oxford, UK)
Michael Watson (University of New South Wales)
Alex Browning (University of Melbourne)

Program Description:

Atherosclerosis is a chronic disease characterised by the growth of fatty plaques in the major arteries. These plaques can cause heart attack and strokes. Atherosclerosis and the resultant heart attacks and strokes are one of the major causes of death worldwide, and yet mathematical modelling of atherosclerosis is still in its infancy. Atherosclerosis shares many underlying mechanisms with other diseases including cancer and tuberculosis; modelling plaque, therefore, has clear potential for wider mathematical impact via cross-pollination between modelling subfields. Features unique to the growth or regression of plaque, however, require bespoke modelling approaches.

The aim of this workshop is to clearly identify three or four avenues for the development and/or analysis of models for atherosclerotic plaque formation and to map out the next steps that need to be taken. This builds on the success of the previous workshop on Mathematical Modelling of Atherosclerosis and will provide a clear plan of action that will guide future research. Specific aims of this current proposal span both model development and analysis. Concrete outcomes include a better biological understanding of atherosclerosis, new types of mathematical models and an integration of models with existing experimental data. In particular, we will consider the role of spatial and temporal scales in modelling atherosclerosis; the development and purposes of individual-based models; integration of continuum tissue mechanics, immunology, and tissue and phenotypic heterogeneity into spatial models; and how to effectively integrate data with modelling. This workshop aims to map out focused lines of research that will produce cogent and high quality results via interdisciplinary collaborations.