Lindahl Lab

An approach that stands out is our use of computational methods to help analyze the kinetics of iron trafficking in yeast. Working in collaboration with Dr. Jay Walton (emeritus Professor of Mathematics at TAMU), we are developing ordinary-differential-equations-based models that describe the kinetics of iron trafficking and regulation in yeast cells. Students interested in this project should have some experience in computer programing and chemical kinetics. We are currently developing “toy” models (10-15 reactions) that describes the mechanism driving the transformation of a healthy cell to a state that characterizes the mitochondrial-based iron-related disease called Friedreich’s Ataxia. We are also developing a larger more comprehensive model (169 reactions and 79 components), which includes all iron-related processes that occur in a yeast cells. For both models, we use our experimental results to connect these models to what is observed experimentally.

Model simulations and predictions will be used to help direct the most informative experiments to pursue. New experimental results are used to modify and improve models and their predictive powers. The long-term goal is to understand – on the molecular level – the phenotypes that are observed when various iron-related genes are deleted or mutated in the cell. Currently, these phenotypes are interpreted superficially. Imagine that such a program, with real predictive power, would be available to medical doctors attempting to diagnose and treat a patient with an iron-related disease. With such a program, they could treat the disease at an unprecedented level of sophistication and effectiveness.