Overview
The NITMB MathBio Convergence Conference will be an international forum for the presentation and discussion of research at the frontier between biology and mathematics. The Conference is sponsored and hosted by a new national institute charged with enhancing greater integration between these disciplines, the NSF-Simons National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology (NITMB). Located in downtown Chicago, the NITMB was founded in 2023 by the National Science Foundation and the Simons Foundation and is a working partnership between Northwestern University and the University of Chicago.
The conference will be a forum to discuss challenging problems in biology that are inspiring new mathematics, statistics, theory and computation and to explore mathematics that is generating important new insights into biology. A half-dozen plenary talks from distinguished international speakers are scheduled at which theory and experiment will be discussed.
There will be 20 speaking slots and two poster sessions selected from submitted abstract applications. The schedule provides ample time for discussion, professional networking and career development activities.
Those who work at or who are interested in the math-bio interface are strongly
encouraged to register for a modest fee to hold their place.
Location
The conference will be held near to the headquarters of the National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology at the Drake Hotel, 140 E. Walton Place, Chicago, Illinois.
Hotel Room Block
A block of hotel rooms has been reserved at The Drake at $199.99 a night. A link to book your room will be sent after registration starting May 22, 2025. Rooms are automatically reserved for invited and selected speakers.
Attendees applying for and receiving travel awards will have their lodging at the conference hotel, meals and travel covered by the NITMB within reimbursement policy. See Travel Awards Tab for more details.
Meals
Breakfast and Lunch will be provided by the conference.
Workspace
All registrants will be welcome to work out of NITMB the days of the workshop.
Questions?
Email nitmb@nitmb.org
Plenary Speakers
Alexander Aulehla
Head of Developmental Biology Unit
The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)
Dr. Aulehla uses dynamical systems to study how a vertebrate embryo forms the unique number of body segments that make up the vertebrae.
Carina Curto
Pablo J. Salame Goldman Sachs Professor of Computational Neuroscience
Brown University
Dr. Curto combines mathematical tools from algebra, geometry, topology and dynamical systems to elucidate complex patterns of activity in networks of neurons.
Lorin Crawford
Principal Researcher & Distinguished Senior Fellow in Biostatistics
Microsoft Research & Brown University
Dr. Crawford uses machine learning and statistical tools to study the genotype-to-phenotype map for complex traits and diseases.
Michael Hawrylycz
Senior Investigator
The Allen Institute
Dr. Hawrylycz studies the cellular constitution and organization of the brain using single-cell transcriptomics and cutting-edge computational and statistical tools.
Anna-Liisa Laine
Professor, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme
University of Helsinki
Dr. Laine studies complex problems in ecology across a spectrum of length and time scales.
Reidun Twarock
Professor, Department of Mathematics
University of York
Dr Twarock uses mathematics to study the symmetries of animal viruses and how they self-assemble inside host cells.
Recordings
Liam O’Brien
Recorded on 8/11/2025
Title: Structural causes of pattern formation and loss through model-independent bifurcation theory
Amlan Nayak
Recorded on 8/11/2025
Title: Unraveling prey evasion mechanisms in zebrafish
Anna-Liisa Laine
Recorded on 8/11/2025
Title: Uncovering the determinants of disease risk and within host-pathogen diversity in natural systems
Haina Wang
Recorded on 8/11/2025
Title: Rigidity homeostasis of the actin cortex via tensionsensitive filament and crosslinker dynamics
Ryan Robinett
Recorded on 8/11/2025
Title: Novel quantification of morphological variation in D. Melanogaster wings using the Wasserstein-FisherRao metric
Palash Sashittal
Recorded on 8/11/2025
Title: Inferring cell lineage trees and differentiation maps from lineage tracing data
Eleanor Degen
Recorded on 8/11/2025
Title: Bicoid-nucleosome competition sets a concentration threshold for transcription constrained by genome replication
Boya Hou
Recorded on 8/11/2025
Title: Multi-network RNA velocity
Michael Hawrylycz
Recorded on 8/11/2025
Title: Discrete Morse graph construction for highdimensional transcriptomic data
Juliana Londono Alvarez
Recorded on 8/12/2025
Title: Attractor-based models for sequences and pattern generation in neural circuits
Reidun Twarock
Recorded on 8/12/2025
Title: Viruses under the mathematical microscope: viral geometry as a key to understanding viral infections
Ning Wei
Recorded on 8/12/2025
Title: The impact of ephaptic coupling and ionic electrodiffusion on arrhythmogenesis in the heart
Nonthakorn Olaranont
Recorded on 8/12/2025
Title: A cell-based mechanical model captures stress relaxation and flow in proliferating tissues with subcellular elasticity
Orlando Arguello Miranda
Recorded on 8/12/2025
Title: Biomolecular network discovery through GenAIdriven time series analysis in living cells
Jason Kim
Recorded on 8/12/2025
Title: Geometric model manifold of space, time, and belief in hippocampal cognitive maps
Lorin Crawford
Recorded on 8/12/2025
Title: Statistical opportunities in defining, modeling, and targeting cell state in cancer
Selimzhan Chalyshkan
Recorded on 8/13/2025
Title: An ensemble modeling framework to predict synapses from optokinetic stimuli in larval zebrafish
Harrison Oatman
Recorded on 8/13/2025
Title: Modeling mitotic wave origins in Drosophila Melanogaster
Alexander Aulehla
Recorded on 8/13/2025
Title: Cycles upon cycles – collective rhythms during embryonic development
Connor Shrader
Recorded on 8/13/2025
Title: Modeling genetic drift and selection in spermatogonial stem cell dynamics
Daniel Cruz
Recorded on 8/13/2025
Title: Personalizing agent-based models to construct medical digital twins
Sidney Holden
Recorded on 8/13/2025
Title: A continuum limit for dense spatial networks
Carina Curto
Recorded on 8/13/2025
Title: Graphical domination and inhibitory control in recurrent networks