Modelling the Effects of Viscoelasticity and Binding in Viral Transport Through Mucus

2022.8 - 2024.3

My work on my master’s thesis is to unravel the interactions and binding dynamics between respiratory viruses and mucins. Doing so is critical as these interactions impact the mobility of pathogens across airway mucus barriers, with clear implications for host infection. This has entailed a synergistic approach that bridges theoretical modeling with experimental work.

On the theoretical front, I have made substantial progress simulating the motion of tracer particles in viscoelastic environments with binding - a model system for virus motion in mucus. A significant aspect of my theoretical research has involved determining an appropriate theoretical framework for particle motion in non-Newtonian environments. Through collaborations with leading research groups in this area, I have developed a model that combines the statistics of Fractional Brownian Motion (fBM) with various algorithms for binding and interaction. Additionally, I have developed an infrastructure to integrate other essential mucosal transport factors, such as local heterogeneity.

Experimentally, I have learned the technique of single particle tracking, and have applied this to characterizing and monitoring the transport of virus-like particles (VLPs) in mucin gels. Our VLP system developed with the characteristics of SARS-CoV-2, IAV, RSV seve as a framework to create a comprehensive library of viral transport profiles.