Biology in Numbers

Jan 25 2025 17 ep. 14

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The Society for Mathematical Biology: the Biology in Numbers podcast

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Season 2 Episode 6: Mark Lewis

where we talk: the Akira Okobu prize, the Fokker-Planck equation, and the movement of bears. Mark Lewis is a mathematical ecologist at the University of Victoria. He uses mathematical models to understand the environment and our human impacts. He tries to maintain that work life balance by spending that hard-earned free time curling. Find out more about Mark’s groups’ work on

Season 2 Episode 5: Suzanne Sindi

…where we talk: society nominations, prion proteins and murderbots. Professor Suzanne Sindi is a Mathematical Biologist studying protein aggregation, and blood coagulation through modeling and data science. She is passionate about promoting inclusion in math and STEM, and was inspired to go into science by dinosaur-related Sci-Fi. Find out more about Suzanne’s work on her web

Season 2 Episode 4: Matthew Penn

…where we talk about a paper studying: who and when we should vaccinate. After completing a DPhil in Statistics from the University of Oxford, focussing in epidemiology and phylogenetics, Matt now works as a data scientist for Italian football club Como 1907. Matt was awarded the Lee A. Segel Prize for Best Student Paper published in The Bulletin of Mathematical Biology: Asympto

Season 2 Episode 3: Reinhard Laubenbacher

…where we talk parasites, motorbikes, and digital twins. Professor Reinhard Laubenbacher is: the Director of Laboratory for Systems Medicine at the University of Florida, an AAAS fellow (American Association for the Advancement of Science), and a scientist interested in using math to understand human disease and more specifically fungal infections in the lungs. When not at work,

Season 2 Episode 2: Stacey R. Smith?

…where we talk about infectious diseases, mentorship and mathematical tattoos. Professor Stacey Smith? is an infectious disease modeler who appreciates the real world impacts that math biology can have. She leads educational and mentorship programming at the SMB and apparently never says no to anything SMB related. We caught Stacey at SMB 2024 in South Korea to talk about her re

Season 2 Episode 1: SMB 2024

…where we talk all things math bio at the annual meeting. Science isn’t complete until it’s communicated, and what better place to do this than a scientific conference. This year, more than a thousand scientists were lucky enough to attend the SMB meeting in Seoul in Korea. This special episode gives a brief preview of some of the exciting research being done, as well as the

Episode 10: Jane Heffernan

…where we talk immune systems, zombies and being presidential. Jane Heffernan is a disease modeller. In her own words “My research aims to understand immunity development and maintenance in people, and in populations, after infection or vaccination. When I am not working, you can find me at soccer pitches or hockey arenas.” Jane’s current research interests lie within mat

Episode 9: Yangjin Kim

…where we talk chemo brain, drug therapies, and a big meeting in Korea Yangjin Kim is a bio-mathematician developing and analyzing various types of mathematical models for cancer research. I am very interested in creating a multi-scale hybrid mathematical model and developing anti-cancer strategies. Yangjin’s current research interests lie within: Tumor microenvironments C

Episode 8: Rebecca-Bekker

…where we talk about radiation patterns, and life in grad school Rebecca Bekker did her BS in Pure & Applied Maths, and an MS in Applied Maths at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. In 2019 she moved to the US to pursue a PhD in Integrated Mathematical Oncology in the joint Moffitt / USF program. Outside of work she enjoys viewing and making art (including painting a

Episode 7: Siv Sivaloganathan

…where we talk about the biomechanics of brain fluids, and going on sabbatical In his own words, Siv Sivaloganathan is: “a mathematician working on problems in the biomedical sciences. Apart from research and contemplating the meaning of life - life is punctuated by periods of exercise and eating (often jogging towards good cuisine!), always in search of the perfect balance be