Orateur
Description
The depolymerization (i.e. progressive shortening) of large molecules can be modeled by discrete Becker-Döring-type equations, or by continuous equations. In many applications, the dynamic nature of the experiments, as well as their nanometric scale, makes it difficult to estimate quantitatively, or even simply to decipher the mechanisms involved.
In this talk, I will discuss two problems inspired by experiments carried out by Human Rezaei's team at INRAE on the depolymerization of PrP protein fibers (responsible for prion diseases). The first, in collaboration with Philippe Moireau, is an inverse problem consisting in the estimation of the initial condition from the time dynamics of a moment of the solution. The second project, in collaboration with Klemens Fellner, Mathieu Mezache and Juan Velazquez, is the design and analysis of an oscillating depolymerization model - the standard models being unable to account for the sustained oscillations observed experimentally.
