The midway assessment is organized in two parts, and starts with a two-hour public seminar, followed by a closed meeting.
The purpose of the midway assessment is to evaluate the progress of the PhD project at a point when it is still possible to make small or more substantial changes.
Programme:
10:15 - 10:40 Welcome, and Presentation by Candidate Dongho Kwak
10:45 - 11:45 Comments by, and discussion with Claude Verdier
11:45 - 12:00 Plenary discussion with the public
Following the public event, there will be a closed meeting between the candidate, invited opponent, and supervisors (12:00 - 12:30).
Summary:
We perceive changes in our environment through sensory inputs. Cells also have sensors that help them to “perceive” the changes in their immediate microenvironment. In my doctoral research, as part of a UiO:Life Science convergence environment project called ABINO, I study how in vitro cells respond to mechanical stimulation such as sound or vibration from a music technology perspective. Therefore, I aim to understand cellular responses not only through the eyes of biology and physics, but also through music and music tools (software and hardware). More specifically, I currently focus on rhythmic mechanical stimulation of in vitro cell cultures. I particularly find rhythm interesting in this context since it is an essential part of both biology and music, but rhythm has not received much attention in mechanobiology literature yet. In my midway assessment, I will be discussing how rhythm as an experimental parameter was employed to stimulate cell cultures mechanically. In addition, some of the preliminary outcomes of the differences observed in cell cultures between experimental conditions (e.g., regular rhythm and irregular rhythm) will be discussed.