Mathematical Biology Seminar Anna Nelson, U of U Math (soon to be Duke University), Wednesday, March 24, 2021 3:05pm on Zoom Kinetic Polmerization Models and the Roles of Fibrinogen in Fibrin Gel Formation Abstract: Fibrin polymerization, an important component of blood clotting, involves the conversion of soluble fibrinogen molecules in the blood plasma to fibrin monomers. These monomers can then polymerize to form a gel that is a major structural component of a blood clot. Oligomers of fibrinogen and fibrin have been observed experimentally and are thought to impact the kinetics of the fibrin gelation process. Fibrinogen plays a dual role in fibrin polymerization; it can occupy available binding sites by binding to fibrin, inhibiting gelation, and it can be converted to fibrin in monomeric or oligomeric form thus facilitating gel formation. In this talk, I will overview two kinetic polymerization models that we developed to study the effects of fibrin-fibrinogen interactions on fibrin polymerization. These models can help characterize the conditions under which a gel forms and examine the impact of fibrinogen-fibrin binding and fibrinogen conversion to fibrin on the gel structure, if one forms. Finally, I will briefly discuss current directions that involve incorporating other processes involved in blood clot formation into our modeling framework.