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Modeling and Theory in Population Biology

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From January-May 2024, a Hybrid Thematic Program will be hosted by the Banff International Research Station, on Modeling and Theory in Population Biology. This program "focuses on advancing the field of mathematical population biology, with an emphasis on building a strong community of researchers in the field." A series of online events will be advertised on this site. Organizers are Mark Broom, Emilia Huerta-Sanchez, Ailene MacPherson, Sally Otto, Noah Rosenberg, Maria Servedio, and John Wakeley. CEHG is assisting with these events. To receive updates, please include "Modeling and Theory in Population Biology" in the subject line and contact Larry Bond, lbond@stanford.edu

All events are listed in the time zone of Banff International Research Station (Mountain time, Canada).

Modeling & Theory in Population Biology kickoff event
Thursday, January 11, 2024. 11:00am-1:30pm *Mountain time zone*
  • 11:00. Welcome (Noah Rosenberg)
  • 11:10. Maria Servedio, University of North Carolina: "The role of theory in evolutionary biology"
  • 11:35. Marc Feldman, Stanford University: "Reflections on Theoretical Population Biology then and now"
  • 12:00. Joel Cohen, Rockefeller University: "Prime numbers, variance functions, beetle larvae, aphids, and tornadoes: research in mathematical population biology leads to unexpected applications"
  • 12:25. Tanja Stadler, ETH Zurich: "Theoretical population biology in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic"  
  • 12:50. Q&A with the speakers
  • 1:00. Online coffee hour
Watch the webinar recording here or read the session recap on the CEHG blog.

 

 

Seminar: Mathematical Population Biology & Society series
Wednesday, January 17, 2024. 12:00noon-1:00pm *Mountain time zone*
Bruce Weir, University of Washington: "Forensic population genetics"
[Organizer: Ailene MacPherson, Noah Rosenberg]
Meeting registration: https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5Apd-2urjIrGtQwcM2-K-avA_rjx0JmC1I0
Watch the webinar recording here or read the session recap on the CEHG blog.
Panel discussion: Career Development series
Tuesday, January 30, 2024. 10:00am-11:00am *Mountain time zone* 
"Theory job search advice & career challenges in Math/Stat/Physics departments"
Panelists: Ben Ashby (Simon Fraser University); Caroline Colijn (Simon Fraser University); Laura Kubatko (Ohio State University); Daniel Weissman (Emory University)
[Organizer: Ailene MacPherson, Maria Servedio]
Meeting registration: https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5Ukc-6qqj0rGdXdDakYjzCHXDEzzPpMvAa_
Watch the webinar recording here or read the session recap on the CEHG blog. 
Tutorial: Software series
Tuesday, February 13, 2024. 10:00am-11:00am *Mountain time zone* 
Jerome Kelleher, University of Oxford; "Coalescent simulation with msprime"
[Organizer: Emilia Huerta-Sanchez, Sally Otto]
Meeting registration: https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5AlcOmrpjoqGdaxl_DEIVIHHrytG1WUox5u
View the presentation slides here.
Interview: Reflections on the History of Modeling and Theory series
Tuesday, February 20, 2024. 10:00am-11:00am *Mountain time zone* 
Recorded interview with Montgomery Slatkin, University of California, Berkeley

[Organizer: Sally Otto, John Wakeley]

Watch the webinar recording here or read the session recap on the CEHG blog. 

Seminar: Early-Career Research series
Wednesday, February 28, 2024. 12:00noon-1:00pm *Mountain time zone* 
Francois Bienvenu, ETH Zurich; "Where do phylogenetic trees come from?" 
Mia Miyagi, Brown University; "Modeling introgression at linked loci"
[Organizer: Mark Broom, Emilia Huerta-Sanchez]
Watch the recordings here and here, or read the session recap on the CEHG blog. 
Tutorial: Software series
Wednesday, March 13, 2024. 12:00noon-1:00pm *Mountain time zone* 
Ben Haller, Cornell University; "SLiM: forward genetic simulation software"
[Organizer: Emilia Huerta-Sanchez, Sally Otto]
Watch the web recording here.
Panel discussion: Modeling & Theory Community series
Wednesday, March 20, 2024. 10:00am-11:00am *Mountain time zone* 
"Strategies for teaching mathematical topics in population biology"
Panelists: Troy Day (Queen's University), Anna Dornhous & Joanna Masel (University of Arizona), Pleuni Pennings (San Francisco State University)
[Organizer: Ailene MacPherson]
Meeting registration: https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u50tceuuqzspH9CaYqq09wqzlcQ5sF9RSGZ3 
*This event will be followed by an online coffee hour*
Panel discussion: Career Development series
Tuesday, March 26, 2024. 10:00am-11:00am *Mountain time zone*
"Theory job search advice & career challenges in Biology departments"
Panelists: Helen Alexander (University of Edinburgh); Claus Rüffler (Uppsala University); Maria Servedio (University of North Carolina); Jeremy Van Cleve (University of Kentucky)
[Organizer: Ailene MacPherson, Maria Servedio]
Meeting registration: https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5UkduytrTwpEtHVUW3a7-1gL5EnYOAWsnwc
Seminar: Early-Career Research series
Wednesday, April 3, 2024. 12:00noon-1:00pm *Mountain time zone*
Maria Martignoni, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; "Toward a unified theory of microbially mediated invasion"
Lenore Pipes, University of California, Berkeley; "A fast approximate maximum likelihood phylogenetic placement method scalable for massive environmental DNA datasets"
[Organizer: Mark Broom, Emilia Huerta-Sanchez]
Meeting registration: https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5ModeGtrTgpGNe01iJtsQG1DH4V1dw8CV43
Discussion: Modeling & Theory Community series
Tuesday, April 9, 2024. 10:00am-11:00am *Mountain time zone*
Alex Diaz-Papkovich, Brown University: "Population genetics and Wikipedia"
[Organizer: Noah Rosenberg]
Meeting registration: https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5YkceyprDMqH9EB410tyCCsDAGttNMZpe7N
Seminar: Mathematical Population Biology & Society series
Tuesday, April 16, 2024. 10:00am-11:00am *Mountain time zone*
Marissa Baskett, University of California at Davis: "Models in service of conservation and restoration management: lessons from kelp forest systems"
[Organizer: Ailene MacPherson, Noah Rosenberg]
Meeting registration: https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u50kcOGqrj0iGNAwTZUNFjGqEnAeXbsQWJVW
Interview: Reflections on the History of Modeling and Theory series
Wednesday, April 24, 2024. 12:00noon-1pm *Mountain time zone* 
Recorded interview with Deborah Charlesworth, University of Edinburgh
[Organizer: Sally Otto, John Wakeley]
Seminar: Early-Career Research series
Wednesday, May 1, 2024. 12:00noon-1:00pm *Mountain time zone*
Maria Kleshnina, Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse; "Efficiency and resilience of cooperation in asymmetric social dilemmas"
Alex Stein, Queen Mary University of London; "A mathematical analysis of the mutational landscape in cancer before and after treatment"
[Organizer: Mark Broom, Emilia Huerta-Sanchez]
Mini-symposium: Modeling & Theory Community series
Wednesday, May 8, 2024. 12:00noon-1:30pm *Mountain time zone*
Mini-symposium on "Phylogenetic models 100 years after Yule (1925)"
  • 12:00. Welcome (Noah Rosenberg)
  • 12:05. Simon Tavaré, Columbia University: Title TBA.
  • 12:30. Amaury Lambert, College de France: Title TBA.
  • 12:55. Katia Koelle, Emory University: Title TBA.
  • 1:20. Q&A with the speakers
[Organizer: Noah Rosenberg, Tanja Stadler, Mike Steel]
Interview: Reflections on the History of Modeling and Theory series
Tuesday, May 14, 2024. 10:00am-11:00am *Mountain time zone* 
Recorded interview with Brian Charlesworth, University of Edinburgh
[Organizer: Sally Otto, John Wakeley]
Hybrid research meeting with a small in-person component at the Banff International Research Station
Monday, May 20, 2024 to Friday, May 24, 2024
Schedule to be announced
[Organizer: Mark Broom, Emilia Huerta-Sanchez, Ailene MacPherson, Sally Otto, Noah Rosenberg, Maria Servedio, John Wakeley]