The Center for Mathematical Biology is the focal point for interdisciplinary
research in mathematics and biology at the University of Pennsylvania.
research in mathematics and biology at the University of Pennsylvania.
Events
Sebastien Roch
(University of Wisconsin, Madison)
Complex Probabilistic Models in Evolutionary Biology: Challenges and Opportunities
Show/Hide Abstract
The reconstruction of species phylogenies from genomic data is a key step in modern evolutionary studies. This task is complicated by the fact that genes evolve under biological phenomena that produce discordant histories. These include hybrid speciation, horizontal gene transfer, gene duplication and loss, and incomplete lineage sorting, all of which can be modeled using random gene tree distributions building on well-studied discrete stochastic processes (branching processes, the coalescent, random rearrangements, etc.). Gene trees are in turn estimated from molecular sequences using Markov models on trees. The rigorous analysis of the resulting complex models can help guide the design of new reconstruction methods with computational and statistical guarantees. I will illustrate the challenges and opportunities in this area via a few recent results. No evolutionary biology background will be assumed.
04:00 PM -
Online Only
MATHEMATICAL BIOLOGY
The Center runs a roughly biweekly seminar series in which we invite researchers in mathematical biology to give a lecture, from around the country and beyond. Many of these seminar speakers are also long-term visitors to Penn, who will interact with a broad range of researchers across campus.
OUR FELLOWS
The Simons Postdoctoral Fellows work in the general area of mathematical biology. Each Fellow is mentored by two advisors, typically one affiliated with the Department of Mathematics and another with the Department of Biology.