Applications of Calculus to Biology and Medicine

Biology majors and pre-health students at many colleges and universities are required to take a semester of calculus but rarely do such students see authentic applications of its techniques and concepts. Applications of Calculus to Biology and Medicine: Case Studies from Lake Victoria is designed to address this issue: it prepares students to engage with the research literature in the mathematical modeling of biological systems, assuming they have had only one semester of calculus. The text includes projects, problems and exercises: the projects ask the students to engage with the research literature, problems ask the students to extend their understanding of the materials and exercises ask the students to check their understanding as they read the text. Students who successfully work their way through the text will be able to engage in a meaningful way with the research literature to the point that they would be able to make genuine contributions to the literature.

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Contents: Background:Lake VictoriaWhat is Calculus?Population Modeling:Introduction to Population ModelingLogistic GrowthHarvesting a Population with Logistic GrowthEuler's MethodModeling Interlude: The Modeling ProcessResearch Interlude: Reading a Research PaperBrief Introduction to SageProjects for Population ModelingDrug Modeling:Introduction to PharmacokineticsTwo Models for Lead in the BodyMethods of Drug AdministrationEuler's Method for Systems of Differential EquationsModeling Interlude: Sensitivity AnalysisResearch Interlude: Writing a Research PaperProjects for Pharmacokinetic ModelingPredator Prey Modeling:Undamped Lotka-Volterra EquationsDamped Lotka-Volterra EquationsPredator SatiationIsoclinesSpecies FormationTop PredatorsModeling Interlude: Potential Problems with ModelsResearch Interlude: Making FiguresProjects for Predatory-Prey ModelsInfectious Disease Modeling:SIR Model for Infectious DiseasesMalariaHIV/AIDSProjects for Infectious Disease ModelsClassroom Tested Projects
Readership: Undergraduates in biomathematics, mathematical biology, mathematical modeling, applied mathematics, and dynamical systems.
Keywords:Population Modeling;Pharmacokinetics;Predator-Prey Modeling;Modeling Disease;Ordinary Differential Equations;Systems of Ordinary Differential Equations;Dynamical Systems as Applied to Biology;Mathematical Modeling;Biological ModelingReview:Key Features:Project-based, while others are exercise-basedMotivated by genuine research on the biological systems of one part of the worldUses Sage, a free open-source computer algebra system for the mathematical modeling