Mathematical Biology and Ecology seminars take place in room L3 of the Mathematical Institute from 2-3pm on Fridays of full term. You can also join us afterwards for tea in the Mathematical Institute Common Room.
Upcoming seminars:
Please note that the list below only shows forthcoming events, which may not include regular events that have not yet been entered for the forthcoming term. Please see the past events page for a list of all seminar series that the department has on offer.
Past events in this series
Fri, 05 Dec 2025
11:00 -
12:00
Dr Lakshmi Balasubramaniam
(Engineering Biology University of Cambridge)
Abstract
Blood vessels are among the most vital structures in the human body, forming intricate networks that connect and support various organ systems. Remarkably, during early embryonic development—before any blood vessels are visible—their precursor cells are arranged in stereotypical patterns throughout the embryo. We hypothesize that these patterns guide the directional growth and fusion of precursor cells into hollow tubes formed from initially solid clusters. Further analysis of cells within these clusters reveals unique organization that may influence their differentiation into endothelial and blood cells. In this work, I revisit the problem of pattern formation through the lens of active matter physics, using both developing embryonic systems and in vitro cell culture models where similar patterns are observed during tissue budding. These different systems exhibit similar patterning behavior, driven by changes in cellular activity, adhesion and motility.
Fri, 23 Jan 2026
11:00 -
12:00
Prof Marie-Therese Wolfram
(Dept of Mathematics University of Warwick)
Fri, 30 Jan 2026
11:00 -
12:00
Fri, 06 Feb 2026
11:00 -
12:00
Prof Sara Merino-Aceituno
(Dept of Maths Universitat Wien)
Fri, 13 Feb 2026
11:00 -
12:00
(The Francis Crick Institute London)
Fri, 20 Feb 2026
11:00 -
12:00
(Dept. of Maths, Swansea University)
Fri, 27 Feb 2026
11:00 -
12:00
(Department of Mathematics and Statistics University of Otago)
Fri, 06 Mar 2026
11:00 -
12:00
(Dept of Mathematics University of Melbourne)
Abstract
Effective application of mathematical models to interpret biological data and make accurate predictions often requires that model parameters are identifiable. Requisite to identifiability from a finite amount of noisy data is that model parameters are first structurally identifiable: a mathematical question that establishes whether multiple parameter values may give rise to indistinguishable model outputs. Approaches to assess structural identifiability of deterministic ordinary differential equation models are well-established, however tools for the assessment of the increasingly relevant stochastic and spatial models remain in their infancy.
I provide in this talk an introduction to structural identifiability, before presenting new frameworks for the assessment of stochastic and partial differential equations. Importantly, I discuss the relevance of our methodology to model selection, and more the practical and aptly named practical identifiability of parameters in the context of experimental data. Finally, I conclude with a brief discussion of future research directions and remaining open questions.
Fri, 13 Mar 2026
11:00 -
12:00
(Dept of Maths Cardiff University)
