
May 11 - 15, 2026
Evolutionary Games: Mathematical Theory and Biological Insights

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Overview
Evolutionary game theory (EGT) offers a powerful modeling framework for analyzing frequency-dependent interactions in biological, social, and artificial systems. Originally adapted from economic models and applied to animal behavior, EGT has become a foundational tool for studying phenomena ranging from microbial competition and tumor progression to cultural dynamics and cooperative AI. The field's mathematical foundations have expanded over the years, incorporating tools from dynamical systems, probability theory, partial differential equations, and network science. This diverse modeling toolkit has enabled researchers to examine how social behaviors evolve in structured populations, how empirical data can inform game parameters, and how environmental feedbacks shape evolutionary dynamics.
This workshop will bring together an interdisciplinary community of EGT researchers to chart new directions for theory and applications. Through presentations and discussions, participants will identify mismatches between current models and observed systems, explore strategies for integrating empirical data into theoretical work, and formulate open problems that resonate across applied mathematics, biology, physics, and computer science. A primary aim of the workshop is to stimulate interdisciplinary collaboration and expand the methodological scope of EGT to frequency-dependent problems across scales.
Participants
Speaker
Attendee
Organizers
Olivia Chu - Bryn Mawr College
Daniel Cooney - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Alex McAvoy - University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill
Joshua Plotkin - University of Pennsylvania
Participants
Daniel Abrams - Northwestern University
Erol Akçay. -University of Pennsylvania
Benjamin Allen - Emmanuel College
Stefano Allesina - University of Chicago
James Crescenzi - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Wai Tong (Louis) Fan - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Feng Fu - Dartmouth College
Nikoleta Glynatsi - RIKEN Center for Computational Science
Adrian Lam - Ohio State University
Philip LaPorte - University of California, Berkeley
Jiayu Li - Princeton University
Naoki Masuda - University of Michigan
Hisashi Ohtsuki - Research Center for Integrative Evolutionary Science, SOKENDAI
Chadi Saad-Roy - University of British Columbia
Anzhi Sheng - KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Arne Traulsen - Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology
Senay Yitbarek - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Adrian Gonzalez Casanova Soberon - Arizona State University
Prakhar Jaiswal - University of British Columbia
Fernando Pedro Pascoal dos Santos - University of Amsterdam
May
11
2026
Monday
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Breakfast & Registration
9:00 am - 9:15 am
Welcome
9:15 am - 9:35 am
Arne Traulsen
9:35 am - 9:55 am
Jeremy Van Cleve
Markov decision processes and minimizing the evolution of antibiotic resistance
9:55 am - 10:15 am
Christian Hilbe
Evolution of noisy learning in games
10:15 am - 10:30 am
Coffee Break
10:30 am - 10:50 am
Hisashi Ohtsuki
Evolution of dispersal in a spatially heterogeneous population
10:50 am - 11:10 am
Daniel Cooney
Stochastic and PDE Models for Evolutionary Games and Cross-Scale Evolutionary Dynamics
11:10 am - 12:10 pm
Group Q&A (Talks 1-5)
Moderator: Joshua Plotkin
12:10 pm - 1:30 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Panel discussion: interactions between evolutionary game theory and other fields
Chadi Saad-Roy, Arne Traulsen, Hisashi Ohtsuki, Erol Akçay, Nikoleta Glynatsi, Stefano Allesina
2:30 pm - 2:45 pm
Coffee Break
2:45 pm - 3:05 pm
Saptarshi Pal
Strategies of cooperation by large language models in repeated games
3:05 pm - 3:25 pm
Zhisheng Shuai
3:25 pm - 3:45 pm
Erol Akçay
Generative artificial intelligence reduces social welfare through model collapse
3:45 pm - 4:05 pm
Benjamin Allen
Adaptive Dynamics of Discriminate and Indiscriminate Mating
4:05 pm - 5:05 pm
Group Q&A (Talks 6-9)
Moderator: Olivia Chu
May
12
2026
Tuesday
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 9:20 am
Nikoleta Glynatsi
Rethinking assumptions in evolutionary models of direct reciprocity
9:20 am - 9:40 am
Naoki Masuda
Effects of degree-heterogeneous networks on cooperation: Reconciling gaps between two major approaches
9:40 am - 10:00 am
Feng Fu
Game theory and artificial intelligence
10:00 am - 10:15 am
Coffee Break
10:15 am - 10:35 am
Senay Yitbarek
Evolution of virulence in tripartite systems: Life-history trade-offs constrain symbiont-vectored pathogens
10:35 am - 10:55 am
Fernando Santos
Evolutionary dynamics of strategic classification
10:55 am - 11:55 am
Group Q&A (Talks 10-14)
Moderator: Alex McAvoy
11:55 am - 1:30 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm - 1:50 pm
Gökçe Dayanıklı
Incorporation of Decision-Making Processes of Individuals in Epidemic Control via Mean Field Game and its Extensions
1:50 pm - 2:10 pm
Nikos Dimou
Expectation-enforcing strategies for repeated games
2:10 pm - 2:30 pm
Philip LaPorte
Complete strategy spaces of direct reciprocity
2:30 pm - 2:45 pm
Coffee Break
2:45 pm - 3:05 pm
Dini Wang
Where groups attract: coevolutionary dynamics of cooperation and imitating rules
3:05 pm - 3:25 pm
Stefano Allesina
Global stability of ecological and evolutionary dynamics via equivalence
3:25 pm - 4:25 pm
Group Q&A (Talks 15-19)
Moderator: Daniel Cooney
4:25 pm
Open time for unstructured discussions
May
13
2026
Wednesday
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Breakfast and poster set-up
9:00 am - 9:20 am
Adrian Gonzalez Casanova
Dormancy stabilizes non-transitive competitive dynamics
9:20 am - 9:40 am
Emma Zajdela
Fashion Changes, but Style Endures: An Optimal Distinctiveness Model for the Cyclical Dynamics of Trends
9:40 am - 10:00 am
Binod Pant
To Identify or Not to Identify: What Structurally Unidentifiable Models Can Tell Us
10:00 am - 10:20 am
Jayaditya Deep
The evolution of cooperative behavior within and across competing collectives
10:20 am - 11:20 am
Group Q&A (Talks 20-23)
Moderator: Joshua Plotkin
10:20 am - 11:45 am
Coffee and informal discussions
11:45 am - 1:00 pm
Lunch
1:00 pm - 1:20 pm
Linnéa Gyllingberg
From Bayes and Darwin to Evolutionary Games: What Changes When Fitness Is Frequency-Dependent?
1:20 pm - 1:40 pm
Maximillian Newman
How to model genetic inheritance across the genome
1:40 pm - 2:00 pm
Daelcheol Kim
Phase Transitions in the Speed of Spread: Hubs, Rare Shortcuts, and Long-Range First-Passage Percolation
2:00 pm - 2:20 pm
Anzhi Sheng
Cooperation conflicts with equality when allocating social goods
2:20 pm - 3:20 pm
Group Q&A (Talks 24-27)
Moderator: Olivia Chu
3:20 pm - 3:45 pm
Poster spotlights
Jiayu Li, Kira Glasmacher, James Crescenzi, Dan Chen, Takahiro Kanazawa, Yuqiao Wang, Yuxuan Zhao
3:45 pm - 5:30 pm
Poster session
Jiayu Li, Kira Glasmacher, James Crescenzi, Dan Chen, Takahiro Kanazawa, Yuqiao Wang, Yuxuan Zhao
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Reception (overlaps with posters from 5:00pm-5:30pm)
May
14
2026
Thursday
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 9:20 am
Wai Tong (Louis) Fan
Evolution of cooperation in a two-level Moran model of the Snowdrift Game
9:20 am - 9:40 am
Adrian Lam
Ideal Free Dispersal in Changing Environments
9:40 am - 10:00 am
Tianyong Yao
Spatial Pattern Formation and the Evolution of Cooperative Behavior
10:00 am - 10:15 am
Coffee break
10:15 am - 10:35 am
Farshid Mohammad-Rafiee
Uncovering Key Springs in Elastic Networks: Insights from Global Epistasis and Hessian Analyses
10:35 am - 10:55 am
Chadi Saad-Roy
10:55 am - 11:55 am
Group Q&A (Talks 15-19)
Moderator: Alex McAvoy
11:55 am - 1:30 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm - 1:45 pm
Special feature introduction
1:45 pm - 2:45 pm
Plenary discussion: themes and contributions
2:45 pm - 3:00 pm
Coffee break
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Breakout working groups
4:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Report-back & synthesis
May
15
2026
Friday
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 9:20 am
Michael Lynch
Addictive Symbiosis
9:20 am - 9:40 am
Daniel Abrams
How and why does synchrony emerge?
9:40 am - 10:00 am
Group Q&A (Talks 33-34)
Moderator: Daniel Cooney
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Colloquium: Natalia Komarova
11:00 am - 11:15 am
Coffee break
11:15 am - 12:15 pm
Special feature working session
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm
Closing remarks and group photo
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Farewell lunch (optional) and departure
Arne Traulsen
Recorded on 05/11/2026
Title: Connecting Theoretical Ecology and Evolutionary Game Theory
Jeremy Van Cleve
Recorded on 05/11/2026
Title: Markov decision processes and minimizing the evolution of antibiotic resistance
Christian Hilbe
Recorded on 05/11/2026
Title: Evolution of noisy learning in games
Hisashi Ohtsuki
Recorded on 05/11/2026
Title: Evolution of dispersal in a spatially heterogeneous population
Daniel Cooney
Recorded on 05/11/2026
Title: Stochastic and PDE Models for Evolutionary Games and Cross-Scale Evolutionary Dynamics
Saptarshi Pal
Recorded on 05/11/2026
Title: Understanding Large Language Model behavior in repeated games
Zhisheng Shuai
Recorded on 05/11/2026
Title: Lyapunov Functions and Global Convergence: Lessons from Heterogeneous Population Models
Erol Akçay
Recorded on 05/11/2026
Title: Generative artificial intelligence reduces social welfare through model collapse
Benjamin Allen
Recorded on 05/11/2026
Title: Adaptive Dynamics of Discriminate and Indiscriminate Mating
Nikoleta Glynatsi
Recorded on 05/12/2026
Title: Rethinking assumptions in evolutionary models of direct reciprocity
Naoki Masuda
Recorded on 05/12/2026
Title: Effects of degree-heterogeneous networks on cooperation: Reconciling gaps between two major approaches
Feng Fu
Recorded on 05/12/2026
Title: Game theory and artificial intelligence
Fernando Santos
Recorded on 05/12/2026
Title: Evolutionary dynamics of strategic classification
Gökçe Dayanıklı
Recorded on 05/12/2026
Title: Incorporation of Decision-Making Processes of Individuals in Epidemic Control via Mean Field Game and its Extensions
Nikos Dimou
Recorded on 05/12/2026
Title: Expectation-enforcing strategies for repeated games
Philip LaPorte
Recorded on 05/12/2026
Title: Complete strategy spaces of direct reciprocity
Dini Wang
Recorded on 05/12/2026
Title: Where groups attract: coevolutionary dynamics of cooperation and imitating rules
Stefano Allesina
Recorded on 05/12/2026
Title: Global stability of ecological and evolutionary dynamics via equivalence
Adrian Gonzalez Casanova
Recorded on 05/13/2026
Title: Dormancy stabilizes non-transitive competitive dynamics
Emma Zajdela
Recorded on 05/13/2026
Title: Fashion Changes, but Style Endures: An Optimal Distinctiveness Model for the Cyclical Dynamics of Trends
Jayaditya Deep
Recorded on 05/13/2026
Title: The evolution of cooperative behavior within and across competing collectives
Maximillian Newman
Recorded on 05/13/2026
Title: How to model genetic inheritance across the genome
Anzhi Sheng
Recorded on 05/13/2026
Title: Cooperation conflicts with equality when allocating social goods
Daelcheol Kim
Recorded on 05/13/2026
Title: Phase Transitions in the Speed of Spread: Hubs, Rare Shortcuts, and Long-Range First-Passage Percolation
Wai Tong (Louis) Fan
Recorded on 05/14/2026
Title: Evolution of cooperation in a two-level Moran model of the Snowdrift Game
Adrian Lam
Recorded on 05/14/2026
Title: Ideal Free Dispersal in Changing Environments
Tianyong Yao
Recorded on 05/14/2026
Title: Spatial Pattern Formation and the Evolution of Cooperative Behavior
Farshid Mohammad-Rafiee
Recorded on 05/14/2026
Title: Uncovering Key Springs in Elastic Networks: Insights from Global Epistasis and Hessian Analyses
Michael Lynch
Recorded on 05/15/2026
Title: Addictive Symbiosis
Daniel Abrams
Recorded on 05/15/2026
Title: How and why does synchrony emerge?
Natalia Komarova
Recorded on 05/15/2026
Title: Mathematical Modeling of Spatial Evolution with Applications to Biomedical Systems
Abstract: Evolutionary dynamics permeates life and life-like systems. Mathematical methods can be used to study evolutionary processes, such as selection, mutation, and drift, and to make sense of many phenomena in life sciences. Mass-action (or mean-field) evolutionary dynamics have been studied over the last 100 years and produced an enormous wealth of useful results. In this talk, however, I will discuss how spatial interactions may change the laws of evolution, giving rise to a number of interesting and counterintuitive findings. I will discuss both explicitly spatial systems and metapopulations and demonstrate a number of scaling laws that describe production and spread of disadvantageous, neutral, and advantageous mutants. Applications of these laws to bacterial growth and carcinogenesis will be discussed.