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Workshop

Extreme Events in Biological Function

875 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611 United States

Workshop Organizers

Alan Lindsay, University of Notre Dame
Krešo Josić, University of Houston
Samantha Linn, Imperial College London
Speaker Abstracts

Overview

Biological systems often operate with surprising precision across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, despite influence from noisy or weak signals. From immune cells detecting rare pathogens to animals navigating vast landscapes with minimal cues, these systems appear to leverage–rather than avoid–randomness. Traditional views treat noise as a disruptive force, but emerging research suggests that rare and extreme events can instead be harnessed as constructive elements, providing deterministic-like behavior in otherwise stochastic environments.

This workshop aims to bring together experts in applied stochastic processes and biological dynamics to explore the critical yet underdeveloped role of extreme and rare events in enabling reliable biological function. Key biological questions include how neurons transmit signals across crowded synapses, how immune cells detect rare pathogens, and how stochastic extinction events influence the dynamics of cancer or HIV. Beyond physical domains, the workshop will also address rare events in abstract biological spaces such as evolutionary fitness landscapes and decision-making processes. Mathematical approaches central to this work include extreme value theory, large deviation theory, ergodic theory, optimal transport, mean-field theory, and rare event sampling techniques. Through this interdisciplinary lens, the workshop aims to advance both theory and application in understanding how biological systems capitalize on rare events for robust function. The program will include research talks and lightning talks, and will have ample time for participants to foster collaborations.