Course details
- It is a 3 credit course running in segments 1-6 of Jan-Apr '2025-26
- Schedule and venue: Slot-C (Mon 11:00, Wed 10:00, Thu 09:00) in BT/BM-010
- Discussion hour: Friday 13:00-14:00
- Evaluation: (6E+1P)-22nd January (12%),
9th11th February (12%), 26th February (12%), 23rd March (12%), 09th April (12%), 28th April (20%), Project (20%)
Problem sets
- Problem set 1 (uploaded on Jan 20th)
- Exam 1 (Questions, Solution)
- Problem set 2 (uploaded on Feb 04th)
- Exam 2 (Questions, Solution)
Problem sets from last year
- Problem set 1 (uploaded on Jan 21st)
- Problem set 2 (uploaded on Jan 22nd)
- Problem set 3 (uploaded on Feb 02nd)
- Problem set 4 (uploaded on Feb 06th)
- Problem set 5 (uploaded on Feb 18th)
- Problem set 6 (uploaded on Mar 01st)
- Project problems
- Problem set 7 (uploaded on Apr 01st)
- Exams
Course contents
This course is for students with some background in mathematical modelling and interest in physiology and medicine. The course explores the human physiology from a mathematical perspective. It integrates mathematical modelling, systems biology, and clinical applications to understand the physiological and pathological processes underlying human health and disease. Through a combination of theoretical frameworks, case studies, and practical modelling exercises, students will gain a deep understanding of how mathematical tools can be used to analyse physiological systems, identify disease mechanisms, and design personalised medical interventions. The tentative contents for the course are
- Introduction to mathematical modeling approaches, analytical techniques and numerical methods
- Introduction to basic physics and engineering principles for physiology
- Mathematical modeling of physiological systems, some examples
- Blood glucose regulation, and type-1 and type-2 diabetes, insulin sensitivity and insulin resistance
- Endocrine system, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and HPT axes, hormonal oscillations, hyperthyroidism
- Immune system, autoimmune diseases, inflammation,
- Ocular physiology, photo-receptor functions, light adaptation, lateral inhibition,
- Cochlear mechano-physiology, resonance in hair cells, frequency tuning
References
- Mathematical physiology by Keener and Sneyd (Vol-II)
- Quantitative Human Physiology by Feher
- Systems Medicine by Uri Alon
- Some research papers which will be give in in the class
Reading materials
Python scripts and other source codes
Course logistics and policies
- Assignments: The course has no assignments. Instead, practice problems will be given at regular intervals. Students are not expected to submit the answers to these problems
- Answers/solutions to the practice problems will not be provided. Students are encouraged to utilise the discussion hour to discuss the problems if they want to.
- Exams: There are 6 exams scheduled (roughly) at the end of each segment. See above for dates. In exams, each student can bring one two-sided hand-written A4 page. Photocopies and e-copies are not allowed.
- Attendance: Attendance is not mandatory in the classes.
- Missing exams: On missing an exam due to a medical emergency you will be allowed to write a make-up exam on producing a medical certificate from the institute health center. Missing the exam due to any other reason will result in no marks.
- Use of unfair means (e.g. plagiarism, copying etc.) is unacceptable in the course. Any sign of it will result in a severe penalty.
Some suggestions
- The best way to follow the course is to work out the details of the topics discussed in each class by yourself after the class.
- There will be one discussion hour each week for clarification of doubts and practice problems. Take advantage of that.
- You have to take the practice problems seriously and solve them on your own. In case you are facing difficulty, you can come and meet the instructor during the discussion hour