Why mathematics and life sciences? One of the reasons is that the tremendous advances made in experimental life sciences in recent years have provided a wealth of data on how organisms work. Gaining biomedical knowledge from these data, requires both mathematical modelling and methods of numerical analysis in conjunction with experimental data.
In order to get up to date in this comprehensive field of research, the participants of the conference discussed issues from different perspectives. Among other topics, they exchanged ideas on systems biology, integrative pathway modeling, and mathematical image analysis. They also looked at current research in computational immunology as well as chemoinformatics and computational drug design. Other presentations focused on current topics in single cell analysis, mathematical biology, dynamics of cellular and neuronal networks, and computational protein modeling and design.
The conference, which was held internationally for the first time, was jointly organized by the Bonn Clusters of Excellence Hausdorff Center for Mathematics (HCM) and ImmunoSensation2, the Transdisciplinary Research Areas (TRAs) "Modelling" and "Life and Health", and the three so-called Interdisciplinary Research Units (IRUs) - , headed by Prof. Dr. Jan Hasenauer, Prof. Dr. Kevin Thurley and Prof. Dr. Alexander Effland. In addition, Asst. Prof. Dr. Alena Khmelinskaia from the TRA "Matter" was part of the scientific organizational team.
Eight keynote lectures by internationally renowned scientists were the highlights of the varied scientific program. Speakers included Ruth Baker from Oxford University, Rob de Boer from Utrecht University, Anna Erzberger from EMBL Heidelberg, Thomas Höfer from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Ana Pombo from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Carola-Bibiane Schönlieb from the University of Cambridge, Oliver Stegle from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Gabriele Steidl from TU Berlin. They spoke to more than 250 participants from institutions in more than 20 countries.
Exchange promotes inspiration
"The possibilities offered by combining mathematical methods and modeling with the life sciences have only been hinted at in recent years," says Prof. Dr. Jan Hasenauer. "And this applies not only to the new possibilities that are available for answering biomedical questions, but also the other way around - for developing entirely new questions from a different perspective. This new exchange really promotes inspiration."
The conference was followed by a hackathon and a workshop in which everyone interested could take part - good opportunities to work together on new ideas. " With its interdisciplinary nature, this conference promises to be a hub of innovation and collaboration," Jan Hasenauer emphasizes.
More info: https://uni-bonn.de/biomath2023
