Camile Fraga Delfino Kunz successfully defended her doctoral thesis in Bioinformatics at Goethe University Frankfurt on 19 February. In her work at Franziska Matthäus' group at FIAS, she investigated how complex biological patternsShe explored how complex biological patterns — such as those underlying hair follicle and feather bud formation — emerge from the interaction of two fundamental mechanisms: diffusion-driven instability and chemotaxis. While each process can independently generate spatial structures, her work focused on uncovering what new behavior arises when both mechanisms are coupled within a single mathematical model.

Through analytical techniques and numerical simulations, Kunz showed that the interplay between reaction–diffusion dynamics and directed cell movement leads to rich and sometimes unexpected effects. The coupling generally increases the robustness of pattern formation by enlarging the parameter region in which patterns can arise. At the same time, stronger chemotactic responses can accelerate the patterning process, although often at the cost of spatial regularity. Remarkably, the combined system can generate patterns even in parameter regimes where neither mechanism alone would be sufficient, while under certain conditions the interaction may also suppress pattern formation.

Her work provides a systematic mathematical framework for understanding coupled pattern-forming systems and contributes to bridging theoretical modeling and experimental findings in developmental biology.

'Since February, Kunz is an assistant professor at the Universidade do Estado de Minas Gerais (Brazil). She plans to continue teaching in higher education, supervising research students, and pursuing a postdoctoral position in the future.

Publication:

Fraga Delfino Kunz, C., Gerisch, A., Glover, J., Headon, D., Painter, K. J., and Matthäus, F., Novel Aspects in Pattern Formation Arise from Coupling Turing Reaction-Diffusion and Chemotaxis. Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, 2023, 86(4): 1–37.