Flu virus and the JAK2-STAT3 pathway
Building a mathematical model of influenza infection at Texas Christian University.
The question
When the flu virus infects cells, it sets off signals inside them. One of those signaling routes is the JAK2-STAT3 pathway. Some research suggests the virus may use this pathway to help itself spread. If that's true, blocking the pathway could slow the infection down.
Lab experiments on this take a long time. A mathematical model lets us test ideas quickly: we write equations for how healthy cells, infected cells, and virus change over time, then see what happens when we block a step.
What I built
- A system of equations describing influenza A infection, extended to include the JAK2-STAT3 pathway.
- Python code that solves the equations and plots how the infection changes under different amounts of inhibition.
- A comparison of where in the model a drug's effect makes the most sense biologically.
Writing the model meant using AP Calculus (the equations describe rates of change) and AP Biology (what each part of the equations means in a real cell) at the same time. Some versions of the model were hard to solve numerically, so I also learned how to choose the right solver.
See a simpler version
The chart below uses a well-known, simpler flu model so you can see the idea. Moving the slider blocks more of the virus's ability to copy itself. With a strong enough antiviral, the infection never takes off.
Try it: how an antiviral changes a flu infection
Virus in the body over 8 days. Slide to block more of the virus's ability to copy itself.
A simplified textbook model of influenza in the body (Baccam et al., 2006), shown for illustration. My TCU project builds a more detailed model that adds the JAK2-STAT3 pathway.
What's next
I'm writing a paper on the methods and findings and comparing my model with an existing one. I've also been selected to present the research.