MHI Seminar Series presents “Temporal Adaptation of Vascular Patterning; An Interdisciplinary Approach”

MHI Seminar Series presents Katie Bentley, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer–KCL; Group Leader–The Francis Crick Institute, Department of Informatics, King’s College London & The Francis Crick Institute, UK

Title Of Talk: “Temporal Adaptation of Vascular Patterning; An Interdisciplinary Approach”

About the Principal Investigator:  Dr. Bentley’s multidisciplinary wet and dry lab integrates in silico predictive computational models with in vitro angiogenesis experiments, ex vivo 3D light-sheet imaging of blood vessels and computational image analysis development to uncover the fundamental mechanisms driving cells to dynamically construct normal and pathological blood vessels. Her modeling philosophy focuses on the role of collective local feedback driving emergent behavior, primarily utilizing agent-based models as she began her career in Adaptive Systems, AI and Evolutionary Robotics research before crossing disciplines into the vascular biology field. During her postdoctoral training at Cancer Research UK (LRI) with Paul Bates and then Holger Gerhardt, she developed unusually predictive agent-based models of VEGF/Notch signaling during angiogenic sprouting, since validated in vivo and extended/refined in iteration with experiments across a myriad of independent, international cross-disciplinary collaborations. In tandem, she trained in performing in vitro angiogenic sprouting assays, cell culture experiments, advanced microscopy of ex vivo tissue (mouse retinas) and developing image analysis software. Her lab recently performed the first light-sheet microscopy study of mouse retinal vessels, revealing new 3D/4D cell dynamic understanding and unappreciated knotted topologies of abnormal blood vessel growth in retinopathy (Prahst et al eLife, 2020).