Gary Mirams
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Room 375, Wolfson Building, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QD |
Interests
My research is in computational biology, we construct mathematical models to describe biological processes. We aim to explore and explain biological processes and provide predictions about the behaviour of biological systems.
Please click for a list of my publications, conference proceedings and talks
. More information on various topics I have worked on is below:
Drug-induced cardiac safety concerns
I am working with David Gavaghan and Denis Noble to develop and evaluate mathematical simulations for drug cardiac safety testing, funded by a GlaxoSmithKline Grants and Affiliates award. We recently concluded a European Commission project on "prediction of drug impact on cardiac toxicity" (PreDiCT), a video summarising some of the results can be seen on the right. I have active collaborations with GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca modelling and safety pharmacology departments, we are investigating whether mathematical models can provide more accurate early predictions of a novel compound's Torsade-de-Pointes risk than existing preclinical animal based safety tests. A report on a recent workshop with pharmaceutical regulators, including the EMA and FDA, can be found here.
Feb 2011: Our work on extending early pharmacological safety testing to better predict Torsadogenic risk has been published in Cardiovascular Research, and the codes used are available to download in an open-source format from the Chaste website.
I am also interested in different models of drug action, looking at where a simple conductance block model is appropriate, and cases where more detailed models of state-dependent, voltage-dependent and allosteric block are required. I am investigating which protocols suffice to fit which parameters in the ion-channel models, and where simplifications can be made.
As part of my research I am involved with the development of the Chaste computational biology environment along with members of the Computational Biology Group. I also work as a visiting researcher in systems biology with Peter Kohl's group at the National Heart and Lung Institute's Heart Science centre at Harefield Hospital, London. I am also an associate fellow with the 2020 Science programme, developing new ways of performing computational science with UCL and Microsoft Research.
Auxin signalling in Arabidopsis
In 2008 I worked with John King in Nottingham, and Stefan Kepinski in Leeds on modelling the auxin signalling pathway in Arabidopsis roots (see my publications page for a paper on this topic).
Colorectal Cancer
My PhD was based at the Centre for Mathematical Medicine and Biology, Nottingham University on the impact of Wnt signalling on colorectal cancer initiation. I worked with Helen Byrne and John King as part of the Integrative Biology Project. As part of this I was involved in the development of a novel multiscale crypt model which was used to study monoclonal conversion in the colorectal crypts. A link to my thesis can be found on my publications page. At the beginning of my studies I attended the Oxford Life Sciences Interface Doctoral Training Centre.
Students
John Walmsley - is investigating the role of heterogeneities and variability in cardiac electrophysiology models, improving the existing phenomenological cardiac cell models to incorporate new phenomena and variability.
Kylie Beattie - in partnership with Yi Cui and Nick McMahon at GlaxoSmithKline, Kylie is attempting to use early ion-channel screening data to predict the results of later animal-based safety tests, with the aim of refinement, reduction and replacement.
Teaching
I hold a stipendiary lectureship in mathematics at Pembroke College, Oxford.
Autumn term 2010 - 2nd Year Differential Equations.
Spring term 2011 - 2nd Year Classical Mechanics.
Spring term 2011 - 2nd Year Quantum Theory.
Summer term 2011 - 1st Year 3D Calculus.
Other Stuff
A guide to using BibTex here.
Biography
For my undergraduate degree I studied mathematics with engineering at the University of Nottingham
Selected Publications
| Application of cardiac electrophysiology simulations to pro−arrhythmic safety testing Gary R. Mirams‚ Mark R. Davies‚ Yi Cui‚ Peter Kohl and Denis Noble In British Journal of Pharmacology. 2012. |
| Application of Human Stem Cell−derived Cardiomyocytes in Safety Pharmacology Requires Caution Beyond hERG M. Jonsson‚ M.A. Vos‚ G.R. Mirams‚ G. Duker‚ P. Sartipy‚ T.P. de Boer and T.A.B van Veen In Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology. Vol. 52. No. 5. Pages 998−1008. 2012. |
| Distinguishing possible mechanisms for auxin−mediated developmental control in Arabidopsis: Models with two Aux/IAA and ARF proteins‚ and two target gene−sets L. J. Bridge‚ G. R. Mirams‚ M. L. Kieffer‚ J. R. King and S. Kepinski In Mathematical Biosciences. Vol. 235. No. 1. Pages 32−44. 2012. |
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