BIOMS Seminar: Efficient methods for stochastic simulation of biochemical systems

Speaker: Silvana Ilie (Ryerson)

Title: Efficient methods for stochastic simulation of biochemical systems

Abstract:

Stochastic modelling is critical for studying many biochemical processes in
a cell, in particular when some reacting species have low  population
numbers.   Mathematically, the dynamics of these biochemical systems may be
accurately described using Markov processes. Often, such systems evolve on
multiple time-scales, therefore their mathematical models are stiff. Stiff
stochastic models are computationally demanding, therefore the need for
designing efficient and accurate numerical techniques for approximating
their solution. We propose several variable stepsize methods for the
numerical solution of stochastic models of biochemical systems.  Both
spatially homogeneous and heterogeneous systems are analyzed. Numerical
experiments on problems of practical interest show the advantages of the
new adaptive schemes over the existing methods.