U.S. Participation in Newton Institute Program on Stochastic Dynamical Systems in Biology: Numerical Methods and Applications

Trustees Of Boston University, Boston

Investigators

Abstract

From January 4 through June 24, 2016, the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences at Cambridge University in the UK will host a thematic program on Stochastic Dynamical Systems in Biology: Numerical Methods and Applications. Stochastic dynamical systems are prevalent throughout biology and medicine, and include many key processes in gene regulation, cell signaling, tissue development, and cancer proliferation. Mathematical and numerical methods are key tools in understanding both the function of these systems, and how to control and manipulate their behavior. The program will bring together a diverse set of international researchers from across the mathematical and biological sciences, each working on the design and application of such methods. The program offers a unique opportunity to exchange ideas and work collaboratively in order to tackle the many challenging open problems of the field by enabling a large number of researchers to participate for extended periods of time. To introduce graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to the field, the opening workshop will offer tutorials and plenary talks focused on providing a broad overview of current research problems. This grant provides travel funding for early career researchers and graduate students from the United States to make extended visits during the program and to participate in the program workshops. It has become clear that to effectively understand stochasticity in biological systems, a combination of modern numerical analysis, estimation and sampling techniques, and rigorous analysis of stochastic dynamics is required. To highlight open problems and current work in these areas, the Isaac Newton Institute for the Mathematical Sciences is running a thematic program on Stochastic Dynamical Systems in Biology: Numerical Methods and Applications. The program will include an introductory, tutorial-based workshop and three research workshops, broadly focused on: multi-scale methods; well-mixed systems; and spatially distributed systems. In addition, each week of the program twenty to thirty long-term participants will be in residence, each visiting the institute for at least two weeks. The interactions between these researchers are expected to advance the field through the development of new cross-disciplinary collaborations. In the mathematical sciences these collaborations will lead to new mathematical techniques and numerical methods for studying ordinary and partial differential equations, discrete and continuous-time stochastic processes, and a variety of statistical models. To enable the broader scientific community to benefit from the program, all lectures and seminars will be available to view through the institute website (with the speaker's permission). This grant specifically supports the travel costs to visit the institute and engage in the activities of the program of several early career and trainee mathematical scientists from the United States. Further information on the program is available on the website, http://www.newton.ac.uk/event/sdb.