Integrative Modeling of the Heart:

Studying the Dynamics of Atrial Fibrillation


Craig S. Henriquez, Ph.D.

W.H. Gardner Jr. Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and

Computer Science, Duke University



The promise of computational biology is that it provides an

enhanced ability to relate changes at the molecular level

to changes in macroscopic function. But as with all techniques,

computational modeling and simulation involve making significant tradeoffs,

usually compromising realism to maintain tractability. In this talk, I

will discuss the challenges of both creating and analyzing large scale,

biologically realistic models of atrial fibrillation and explore some of the reasons why simulation and experimentation must come closer together to fully elucidate the

dynamics of wavefront conduction in inhomogeneous, three-dimensional domains.