Mathematical Biology Seminar Rayanne Luke, University of Delaware Wednesday, January 27, 2021 3:05pm on Zoom Parameter Identification for Tear Film Thinning and Breakup Abstract: Hundreds of millions of individuals worldwide experience dry eye syndrome, a condition that decreases quality of vision and causes ocular discomfort. A phenomenon associated with dry eye syndrome is tear film breakup (TBU), or the formation of thinned regions in the tear film. We fit human tear film data extracted from fluorescence images with nonlinear thin film fluid PDE models to determine which mechanism(s) play a role in causing TBU. Through our fitting procedure, we estimate breakup parameters that cannot currently be measured directly, such as localized tear film thicknesses and thinning rates. The parameters are determined by a nonlinear least squares minimization between computed and experimental fluorescent intensity. In this talk, I will discuss our results, what they can tell optometrists about tear film function, some limitations of the models, and a promising future direction using machine learning.