Workshop attendees participating in small-group discussions at the Random Dynamical Systems, with Applications in Biology workshop
Mathematicians and biologists from around the world recently convened at the NSF-Simons National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology (NITMB) for the Random Dynamical Systems, with Applications in Biology workshop. This unique gathering aimed to bridge the gap between mathematical scientists working on random dynamical systems, and biological scientists who incorporate these frameworks in their research. Over the course of the workshop, participants tackled intricate biological problems and developed a deeper understanding of the role random dynamical systems can play in expanding biological research.
Through thought-provoking overview talks, hands-on problem formation sessions, and ample time for collaborative brainstorming in small groups, the workshop fostered a dynamic environment for discovery. By the end of the week, participants had refined key questions and laid the groundwork for transformative collaborations, poised to advance understanding of biological phenomena in bold new directions.
A key mission of the ‘Random Dynamical Systems’ workshop was to ignite new collaborations among its participants—and by all accounts, it succeeded. Many attendees reported joining formal projects or building connections that could lead to future research opportunities. Katie Newhall, an Associate Professor of Mathematics at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, highlighted one such outcome: a plan among participants to co-author review articles. “A lot of the talks discussed noise induced transitions,” said Newhall. “It seemed there was space for an article where you could lay out all these things and show how you do them. You could give this paper to your new students, and they could learn how to do these things.”
Alejandro Maass (top right), Full Professor of Mathematics at the University of Chile, presents to (from left to right) Martin Rasmussen, Professor of Natural Sciences at Imperial College London, Jared Salisbury, postdoctoral research associate at the University of Chicago, and Sebastian Wieczorek, Professor (Chair) of Applied Mathematics at University College Cork.
Another exciting collaboration emerged between Alejandro Maass, Full Professor of Mathematics at the University of Chile, and Sebastian Wieczorek, Professor (Chair) of Applied Mathematics at University College Cork. “The idea is to produce a very simple model of what is the action of a microorganism in the ocean, the soil, and the land,” said Maass. “We discussed with Stefano Allesina and Mary Silber about the fact that in many international forums on climate change, they don’t consider biology. And so there are many issues we can try to start modeling and creating a multidisciplinary group with biologists to do so.”
Wieczorek, who is also collaborating on another climate-related project, noted the diversity of discussions at the workshop. “I had a number of stimulating discussions with both biologists and mathematicians, and became involved in at least two collaborations,” he said. “One is on the persistence of non-stationary ecosystems under geographically shifting habitats due to climate change.”
Beyond these specific projects, the workshop fostered connections between researchers from diverse fields, forming a network of mathematicians and scientists dedicated to exploring interdisciplinary research. Researchers such as Jiaqi Liu, a postdoctoral fellow in Applied Mathematics and Computational Science (AMCS) at the University of Pennsylvania, expressed the significance conversations fostered at NITMB will have for future research. “Through conversations with Stefano Allesina and Arne Traulsen, I gathered several interesting models that I might explore further in the future.”
(From left to right) Renee Oldfield, graduate student at The University of Queensland, Megan Morrison, Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Belal Mutabagani, graduate student at the University of Illinois Chicago, Mary Skillicorn, graduate student at Northwestern University, and Caitlin Lienkaemper, postdoctoral fellow at Boston University
The workshop’s success in fostering collaboration was no accident. It was the result of intentional planning by the organizers, who prioritized discussion and interaction over traditional presentations. “I’ve attended a lot of different types of workshops where they try to have a diverse group of researchers from different communities, but oftentimes the traditional format of workshops is that they’re overloaded with talks,” said Benjamin Zhang, a postdoctoral research associate in the Division of Applied Mathematics at Brown University. “This particular NITMB workshop made an effort to encourage collaborations between everyone.”
These discussions were significant not only for building bridges between researchers, but also for bridging gaps in understanding. Effective collaboration between mathematicians and biologists requires a strong grasp of the language used by the other disciplines involved. Fortunately, NITMB’s approach to scientific workshops is effective at helping mathematicians and biologists gain a deeper understanding of the language used by each group. “I joined a discussion group interested in metastability,” explained Jiaqi Liu. “As a pure mathematician working in probability theory, I view metastability as a special case of quasi-stationary distributions. However, through conversations with Martin Ramussen and other participants, I came to appreciate that in applied contexts, the focus is often on time scales in metastability. This perspective was both surprising and deeply inspiring to me.”
While discussions were the focal point of the workshop, presentations were also utilized to produce a foundation for small group work. What made presentations at the ‘Random Dynamical Systems’ workshop unique however was how participants were encouraged to frequently interrupt presentations with questions, fostering an atmosphere of discussion even within presentations. “The speakers expected to be interrupted during their presentations and had time to answer questions as they went along,” described Sebastian Wieczorek. “This allowed me to follow topics outside of my area of expertise to a much greater extent than usual.”
(From left to right) Maanasa Natrajan, PhD student at Johns Hopkins University, Si Tang, Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Lehigh University, and Gökçe Dayanıklı, Associate Professor of Statistics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Encouraging discussion was also important for helping early-career researchers feel comfortable engaging in rigorous discourse. Alejandro Maass found the workshop environment to be significant for the impact it will have on the next generation of researchers. “Students were there to ask questions, to see this environment. In the long term when they finish their PhD, they will have already had this experience. For young people, I think this is very important. We cannot measure the impact today, but if after what happened here they decide to strengthen the connection between mathematicians and biologists, I’m sure this will have a huge impact on their practices.” One such early-career researcher, Connor Shrader, a second year PhD student studying mathematics at the University of Utah, found the workshop to be invaluable for the network of researchers available. “I enjoyed meeting lots of people from different areas, especially other students, and learning about the problems they are interested in,” mentioned Shrader. “It was also good to talk to postdocs and faculty. I not only learned about their research interests but also benefitted from hearing their stories of how they found their research identity and succeeded in academia.”
Including a diverse group of researchers was essential for meeting the goals of the ‘Random Dynamics Workshop.’ As Jiaqi Liu explained, “The workshop brought together a well-balanced group of participants from diverse backgrounds. No matter what biology-related question I had, there was always someone available to provide valuable insights.”
Theoretical biologists such as Arne Traulsen, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön, were also impressed by the utility of the diverse participant group. “Math-bio is often seen as a field supporting biology, but this workshop showed me that it is equally important to find well-motivated mathematical problems arising in biology,” Traulsen noted. “Otherwise, translating will be a one-way street!”
Encouraging in-depth discussions among a diverse group of researchers ultimately pushed everyone in attendance out of their comfort zones, setting up opportunities for discovery and innovation. “This workshop really forced everyone to move a little bit out of their comfort zone and hear more about what people are doing in fields that aren’t directly their own,” said Connor Shrader. “I hope down the line this will help foster a more unified language for people to talk about random dynamical systems in a way that is inclusive of all the different types of research that everyone is doing.”
Workshop attendees participating in small-group discussions at the Random Dynamical Systems, with Applications in Biology workshop
Discussions were also supported with the use of the NITMB’s new, permanent space on the 35th floor of the John Hancock Center. This new space touts a dedicated auditorium for convening activities, a dining area, temporary offices for visitors, and extensive open collaborative workspaces for research and interaction. All breakout groups at the ‘Random Dynamical Systems’ workshop utilized the numerous collaborative spaces available. The new collaborative spaces feature open areas with an extensive collection of chalkboards and whiteboards. Having such open collaborative space invites researchers to engage with one another. The space also allows researchers to easily move between different conversations to learn new concepts or contribute their own insight, something that occurred frequently throughout the workshop. The ‘Random Dynamical Systems’ workshop was the first use of the NITMB’s new space, and the space has already shown tremendous promise for amplifying the collaborative atmosphere of the NITMB.
With the support of the workshop’s unique format, a diverse and engaged group of participants, and a new space that encourages collaboration, the ‘Random Dynamical Systems’ workshop effectively produced a collaborative environment. The results of such an environment have already been experienced by workshop participants such as Arne Traulsen. “It helped to improve my understanding about some issues, and I had some great discussions with individual people,” reflected Traulsen.
Megan Morrison, an Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics at the Illinois Institute of Technology, also found the collaborative environment fostered by the workshop useful for developing new ideas and collaborations. “The workshop supported the development of collaborations by providing semi-structured discussion groups around different themes and providing the space for new directions to be explored,” said Morrison.
(From left to right) Brent Doiron, Heinrich Kluver Professor of Neurobiology and Statistics at the University of Chicago, Shoshana Chipman, graduate student at the University of Chicago, Carina Curto, Pablo J. Salame Goldman Sachs Professor of Computational Neuroscience at Brown University, Caitlin Lienkaemper, postdoctoral fellow at Boston University, and Dimitra Despoina Maoutsa, postdoctoral fellow at the Technical University of Munich
The results of these discussions will continue to reverberate in the mathematics and biology communities long after the conclusion of the workshop. Collaborations resulting from the workshop are especially likely to leave a lasting impact. Benjamin Zhang noted that the workshop was responsible for starting conversations that could potentially lead to future work. “Broadly speaking I have seen new collaborations develop,” noted Zhang. “I am involved in the beginnings of certain collaborations, nothing concrete, but the idea is we will keep in touch and try to figure out if there are things we can work on together. And this will be completely because of the workshop.”
One other way the workshop helped to produce new collaborations was through the topic generation sessions before each period of small group discussion. Before the participants were released to discuss problems among themselves, the entire group would gather together for an open discussion on the problems most worthy of consideration. “The topic generation session was particularly helpful in terms of motivating new collaborations,” said Si Tang, an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Lehigh University. “As a probabilist, I initiated a new collaboration with a theoretical neuroscientist on a research problem that could benefit from both our areas of expertise.”
As the first full year of the NITMB comes to a close, the Institute looks forward to an upcoming year filled with more research, collaborations, events, and workshops planned than ever before. The success of the Random Dynamical Systems, with Applications in Biology workshop will serve to inspire the format for future workshops the NITMB is preparing for 2025. One workshop that serves as an excellent opportunity to experience the NITMB and learn about its opportunities is the 2025 Emerging Directions Workshop. Researchers interested in joining the NITMB for an upcoming workshop can also visit the ‘Upcoming Workshops’ page to discover all the workshop opportunities currently available.