Summary
Broadly speaking, my research concerns the mathematical structures and biophysical principles underlying cellular and multicellular function. In addition to applying mathematics to solve biological problems, I use biology as a source of inspiration for developing new mathematics. My work draws upon a wide range of theoretical tools: PDEs, probability theory and stochastic processes, non-equilibrium statistical physics, dynamical systems theory, and nonlinear patterns and waves. Current research interests are centered on stochastic and non-equilibrium processes and their applications to cell biology. Topics include diffusive and active transport processes, stochastic search processes, mean field theory and interacting particle systems, stochastically switching (hybrid) systems, and cellular self-organization. I also have a long-standing interest in neural field theory and models of visual cortex.
In 2014 I published the first graduate textbook on "Stochastic Processes in Cell Biology" (Springer 2014). A two-volume 2nd edition appeared in 2021.
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-72515-0
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-72519-8
From 2001-2023 I was a senior faculty member of the graduate program in mathematical biology at the University of Utah. This program was one of the first of its kind in the US, and many of its graduate alumni are now mathematical biology faculty.
Ph. D inquiries welcome
I have funding for at least one Ph. D student with a start date of October 2024 (research topic is flexible). If anyone is interested then please feel free to contact me for a friendly chat.
Preprints
P. C. Bressloff. Entropy production for diffusion processes across a semi-permeable interface. http://arxiv.org/abs/2402.16403
P. C. Bressloff. Global density equations for interacting particle systems with stochastic resetting: from overdamped Brownian motion to phase synchronization. http://arxiv.org/abs/2401.03501
P. C. Bressloff. A generalized Dean-Kawasaki equation for an interacting Brownian gas in a partially absorbing medium. http://arxiv.org/abs/2312.06294
P.C. Bressloff. Asymptotic analysis of particle cluster formation in the presence of anchoring sites. http://arxiv.org/abs/2312.05558
P. C. Bressloff. Semi-permeable interfaces and the target problem. http://arxiv.org/abs/2310.20532
P. C. Bressloff. Transition path theory for diffusive search with stochastic resetting. https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.00622
Selected Publications
Journal Articles
Bressloff PC, 2024, Transition path theory for diffusive search with stochastic resetting, Journal of Physics A - Mathematical and Theoretical, Vol:57, ISSN:1751-8113
Bressloff PC, 2024, Global density equations for interacting particle systems with stochastic resetting: from overdamped Brownian motion to phase synchronization, Chaos, Vol:34, ISSN:1054-1500
Bressloff PC, 2024, Global density equations for a population of actively switching particles, Journal of Physics A - Mathematical and Theoretical, Vol:57, ISSN:1751-8113
Bressloff P, 2024, Asymptotic analysis of conversion-limited phase separation, Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical & Engineering Sciences, Vol:480, ISSN:1364-5021
Bressloff P, 2024, Truncated stochastically switching processes, Physical Review E, Vol:109, ISSN:1539-3755
Schumm RD, Bressloff PC, 2023, A numerical method for solving snapping out Brownian motion in 2D bounded domains, Journal of Computational Physics, Vol:493, ISSN:0021-9991
Bressloff PC, 2023, Encounter-based reaction-subdiffusion model I: surface adsorption and the local time propagator, Journal of Physics A - Mathematical and Theoretical, Vol:56, ISSN:1751-8113
Bressloff PC, 2023, Encounter-based reaction-subdiffusion model II: partially absorbing traps and the occupation time propagator, Journal of Physics A - Mathematical and Theoretical, Vol:56, ISSN:1751-8113
Bressloff PC, 2023, The 3D narrow capture problem for traps with semipermeable interfaces, Multiscale Modeling & Simulation, Vol:21, ISSN:1540-3459, Pages:1268-1298
Bressloff PC, 2023, Renewal equations for single-particle diffusion in multilayered media, SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, Vol:83, ISSN:0036-1399, Pages:1518-1545
Bressloff PC, 2023, Close encounters of the sticky kind: Brownian motion at absorbing boundaries, Physical Review E, Vol:107, ISSN:2470-0045
Bressloff PC, 2023, Two-dimensional interfacial diffusion model of inhibitory synaptic receptor dynamics, Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical & Engineering Sciences, Vol:479, ISSN:1364-5021
Bressloff PC, 2023, Trapping of an active Brownian particle at a partially absorbing wall, Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical & Engineering Sciences, Vol:479, ISSN:1364-5021
Bressloff PC, 2023, Accumulation time of diffusion in a 3D singularly perturbed domain, SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics, Vol:83, ISSN:0036-1399, Pages:862-881
Bressloff PC, 2023, Encounter-based model of a run-and-tumble particle II: absorption at sticky boundaries, Journal of Statistical Mechanics-Theory and Experiment, Vol:2023, ISSN:1742-5468
Bressloff PC, 2023, Diffusion with stochastic resetting screened by a semipermeable interface, Journal of Physics A - Mathematical and Theoretical, Vol:56, ISSN:1751-8113
Bressloff PC, 2023, Renewal equations for single-particle diffusion through a semipermeable interface, Physical Review E, Vol:107, ISSN:2470-0045