Masumi Sugiyama presents her research at the 2022 Research Dialogues in the University Center. Photo by Angela Foster.
When Masumi Sugiyama was looking to continue her studies, she knew she wanted a program that combined her interests in math and computer science.
When she came across the programs offered at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, it was a perfect fit.
A native of Japan, Sugiyama came to UTC to pursue a doctoral degree in 2021 after attending the University of New Mexico, where she received a master’s degree in applied mathematics. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from the University of California San Diego.
In August, Sugiyama received a Ph.D. in computational science with an applied mathematics concentration.
“With my background in applied mathematics,” she said, “I thought that this Ph.D. program would be a great opportunity to gain more computational skills and research experience that utilizes mathematics.”
As part of her research, she studied tau proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and chronic traumatic encephalopathy—a brain disorder caused by repeated head injuries that can lead to symptoms like memory loss and dementia.
What sounds like an area of research limited to science and medicine also incorporates a key mathematical concept: knot theory.
Knot theory is a field of topology that studies how different knots can be formed and classified. It looks at the shapes and arrangements of these knots to understand their properties.
“If you take a piece of string, tie a knot in any fashion and then join the ends together, you have created a closed loop with a knot,” Sugiyama said. “These knots are mathematical knots studied in knot theory.
“Many knots we encounter in daily life, like tangled extension cords, are—however—not mathematical knots since their ends are not joined together to form a closed loop. Since any knots with loose ends can be untangled to look exactly alike, one of the questions here is how these open knots are tangled.”
In her research, Sugiyama used knot theory to analyze the shapes of tau proteins, which can become twisted and tangled in the brain, leading to brain diseases.
In June, Sugiyama successfully defended her doctoral research titled “Topology of Neurodegenerative Diseases.”
“After three years of research and all I had learned, I was excited to share and present what I had found and the progress I had made in my research,” she said. “After defending and writing my thesis, I was proud of my achievement and at the same time was very relieved to go through the last part of the Ph.D. program.”
Using her previous research, Sugiyama will apply her knowledge and skills at the International Institute for Sustainability with Knotted Chiral Meta Matter at Hiroshima University in Japan.
“The application of knot theory to protein structure used in my research can provide a new way to analyze structural dynamics of proteins that are experimentally observed at the research center,” she said. “This may bring a new insight into their research that could help develop a deeper understanding of biological mechanisms.”
Dr. Chris Cox, head of the UTC Department of Mathematics and a former professor of Sugiyama’s, was the advisor of record for Sugiyama’s research.
“I first got to know Masumi when she took the graduate numerical analysis course that I taught in her first semester at UTC,” Cox said. “She was clearly one of the best students in that class.”
He said that he didn’t need to put in much effort to assist Sugiyama with her research.
“My task was easy because Masumi is an excellent student,” he said.
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