Irina Kareva: Math can help uncover cancer's secrets
אירינה קרבה: מתמטיקה יכולה לחשוף את סודות הסרטן
Irina Kareva is looking for answers to biological questions using mathematical modeling. Full bio
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of differential equations,
של משוואות דיפרנציאליות,
behavior over time
interact with each other
מתקשרים אחד עם השני
these assumptions into equations,
את ההנחות האלו למשוואות,
into the language of biology.
do not think about what things are;
לא חושבים על טיבם של הדברים;
between individuals,
and with their environment.
ועם הסביבה שלהם.
have in common?
such as cancer cells.
כגון תאי סרטן.
of predator-prey type equations
של משוואות מסוג טורף-טרף
between foxes and rabbits
have been studied extensively
of two populations,
on consuming the other.
provide a framework
cancer-immune interactions,
בין סרטן ומערכת החיסון,
to prevent the predator from killing it,
בשביל למנוע מהטורף להרוג אותו,
interesting implications.
in the field of immunotherapy,
בתחום האימונותרפיה,
somewhat limited efficacy
such as glucose to survive.
the immune cells for shared nutrients
בתחרות על רכיבי מזון משותפים
not be able to do their job.
לעשות את העבודה שלהם.
resource type model
in my own research.
in the tumor microenvironment --
במיקרו-סביבה של הגידול --
immune cells get their food --
מקבלים את המזון שלהם --
their edge in fighting cancer, the prey.
במלחמה מול הסרטן, הטרף.
as an ecosystem,
כעל מערכת אקולוגית,
compete and cooperate
מתחרות ומשתפות פעולה
the immune system --
מערכת החיסון -
of the human body.
ecosystems from conservation biology?
ממדע האקולוגיה?
to extinguish species
the key components
and therapeutic interventions
and affordable way
of the microenvironment
without harming the host,
בלי לפגוע בפונדאי,
goal of my research
is to save lives.
applied to biology,
שניתנים ליישום בתחום הביולוגיה,
to the development of drugs.
recently has remained somewhat marginal,
mathematical methods,
of computational power available to us.
of mathematical modeling
that it makes you formalize,
for testing biological hypotheses.
לבחינת השערות ביולוגיות.
so we can make further predictions
אז אפשר לעשות עוד תחזיות
aspect of the model.
do not match our observations,
לא תואמות את התצפיות,
of our assumptions are wrong,
of the key mechanisms
are causing the discrepancy.
identified gap in knowledge
את חוסר הידע הזה
and theoretical approaches.
is extremely complex,
parts is not only very difficult,
אינו רק קשה מאוד,
on a scale of seconds, some minutes,
תוך שניות או דקות,
to separate those out experimentally.
להפריד ביניהם מבחינה ניסויית.
so quickly or so slowly
never be able to measure them.
on any subsystem in any timescale
בכל תת-מערכת בכל ציר זמן
of a modeler alone.
collaboration with biologists.
בשיתוף פעולה קרוב עם ביולוגים.
some capacity of translation
formulation of a problem
for testing hypotheses
and therapeutic interventions,
and logical inconsistencies
וחוסר עקביות לוגי
as to where we should keep looking
can help us answer questions
יכולה לעזור לנו לענות על שאלות
person's health, actually --
to asking the right question
to the right equation ...
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Irina Kareva - Theoretical biologistIrina Kareva is looking for answers to biological questions using mathematical modeling.
Why you should listen
Dr. Irina Kareva studies cancer as an evolving ecosystem, bringing in insights from various disciplines -- from evolutionary biology to paleontology to ergodic theory -- to understand how we can manage, if not cure, cancer like a chronic disease. She has authored more than 25 publications, including several papers with her parents, who are also mathematicians. The Kareva clan was featured in a Nature article entitled "Relationships: Scions of Science."
Kareva is a research scientist at EMD Serono Research Center near Boston Massachusetts, US. Her book, Understanding Cancer from a Systems Biology Point of View: From Observation to Theory and Back, was recently published by Elsevier, and a second book on mathematical modeling of the evolution of heterogeneous populations will be released in mid-2019.
In addition to her scientific studies and endeavors, Kareva also holds a degree in music and works actively as a professional opera singer. She is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood Festival Chorus, has performed solo roles in local productions, religious music performances, and can even occasionally be heard in pieces as varied as video game soundtracks and heavy metal recordings.
Irina Kareva | Speaker | TED.com