職 稱：教授
辦 公 室：理學院420室
電 話：07-5919520
傳 真：07-5919344
E-mail：aprilchen@nuk.edu.tw
最高學歷：
專 長：
研究簡介：
My current research interests are in the areas of mathematical biology and medicine including problems concerning the hormone interactions of the endocrine system, tumour modelling and cell signalling. My previous work involves problems with applications to solid mechanics. Currently I am combining the two areas of work employing solid mechanics in the modelling of tumour growth. I use ODEs and PDEs (continuum models) in my modelling and employ singular perturbation technique to simply the analysis. For the most recent project concerning the hormone interactions within the endocrine system, we constructed a model of delayed differential equations that describes interactions and feedback of hormones along the hypothalamuspituitary-ovary axis and exploited the nature of multiple timescales resulting in a simplified
system of three delayed differential equations. The relative simplicity enables a more detailed analysis of the solution structure in large time while at the same time is capable of reproducing the myriad of the solutions exhibited by the more complicated models. The predicted hormone concentration is currently being incorporated into the modelling of myoma growth. As well as considering the influence of growth-induced stress on tumour expansion, we are interested in the effect of hormone on tumour development, particular when such effect is induced by externally applied drug treatments. I have also worked on problems in the area of solid mechanics, in particular fracture mechanics using singular perturbation technique and have modelled problems that describe flow efficiency into the wellbore with applications to the oil industry. Recently, I have collaborated with my colleagues studying the multiplicity of solutions to some Dirichlet boundary value problems.