International conference
Modelling Biological Evolution 2015: Linking Mathematical Theories with Empirical Realities
combined with the LMS workshop:
Mathematical and Computational Models in Evolutionary Biology: Shifting the Existing Paradigms
University of Leicester (UK), April 28 - May 1, 2015
Main Organiser Andrew Morozov (University of Leicester, UK)
Sponsored by the University of Leicester and London Mathematical Society
The conference will focus on various aspects of modelling evolution, adaptation and acclimation in different biological systems ranging from macromolecules and cells to processes in sociobiology, including the evolution of human culture and behaviour. Various methods and modelling techniques will be represented including (but not restricted to) general aspects of game theory, adaptive dynamics, optimization, reinforcement learning, model reduction, individual based models as well as their combinations. An important part of the conference will be comparison of the results obtained based on different mathematical techniques to stimulate further advances in modelling biological evolution. The conference is also expected to be an open forum for communication (and probably, hot debates!) between empirical evolutionary biologists and mathematicians with the main goal of enhancing interdisciplinary approaches and stimulating further advances in understanding biological evolution.
Advisory Scientific Committee (in alphabetic order):
Alexander Gorban (University of Leicester, UK)
Ivana Gudelj (University of Exeter, UK)
Vincent Jansen (Royal Holloway University of London, UK)
Kalle Parvinen (University of Turku, Finland)
Minus van Baalen (Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, France)
Andy White (Heriot-Watt University, UK)
Invited Keynote Speakers (in alphabetic order):
Samuel Alizon (Montpellier, France) confirmed
Nick Britton (University of Bath, UK) confirmed
Sergey Gavrilets (University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA) confirmed
Alexander Gorban (University of Leicester, UK) confirmed
Ivana Gudelj (University of Exeter, UK) confirmed
Rebecca Hoyle (University of Southampton, UK) – confirmed
Yoh Iwasa (Kyushu University, Japan) confirmed
John McNamara (University of Bristol, UK) confirmed
Katerina Stankova (Maastricht University, the Netherlands), in memory of Professor Maurice Sabelis confirmed
Arne Traulsen (Max-Planck-Institute, Ploen, Germany) confirmed
Local organizing committee
Matthew Adamson, Scott Balchin, Oksana Gonchar, Masha Jankovic, Yadigar Sekerchi
The scope of the conference is outlined by (but not necessarily limited to) the following topics:
üEvolutionary Game Theory
üEvolutionary Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases
üVirulence Management
üEvolution of Macromolecules
üModels of Somatic Evolution of Cancer
üPopulation and Quantitative Genetics
üEvolutionary Population Ecology
üBiodiversity and Origin of Species
üModels in Behavioural Ecology
üSolving Social Dilemmas
üModels of Evolution of Culture and Human Behaviour
üHuman Origins
Conference Program with timetable
Book of abstracts with timetable
In order to encourage a wide participation of PhD students as well as early career researchers, there will be a poster session organised during the conference. We expect some financial support provided by LMS for PhD students based on UK.
THEMED ISSUE: We are planning to publish a themed issue of Journal of Theoretical Biology (Elsevier) on modelling biological evolution. A contribution article to this issue can be either directly related to the conference presentation/poster or can be based on some other interesting work in the given field. All submissions will be carefully reviewed according to the standards of Journal of Theoretical Biology.
To register, please send a message to am379@le.ac.uk (Andrew Morozov) with a title and a brief abstract of your presentation (one page at most, in a camera-ready format, either pdf or Word), clearly indicating whether it is intended to be a talk or a poster. Also, in case there is more than one author, please indicate very clearly who is actually going to present the work. If you are willing to contribute to the themed issue of JTB, please, mention this clearly in the registration form indicating the provisional title of your contribution and providing a short description (2-3 sentences).
Download the registration form here.
There will be a small registration fee to be paid by cash upon arrival at the registration. The exact amount of the fee will depends on the number of days and the status of the participants:
1-day/ 2-day conference fee: 100 GBP (non-student participants)
3-day/ 4-day conference fee: 125 GBP (non-student participants)
Student participants: conference fee: 50 GBP (regardless of the number of days)
Important Dates
Minisymposia proposal submission closes: January 1st, 2015
Notification of acceptance: January 31st, 2015
Registration and abstract submission closes: February 1st, 2015 (extended to February 16th)
Notification of acceptance: March 1st, 2015 (extended to March 16th)
Announcement of the final programme and timetable: April 10th, 2015
Accommodation information: please find a list of suitable hotels here.
To learn more about the University of Leicester, please visit http://www.le.ac.uk/external/
About the city
Leicester is the tenth largest city in the United Kingdom and the largest city in the East Midlands with a population of 330,000. Leicester is one of the oldest cities of England with more than 1000 years of history. The name "Leicester" comes from the words castra of the "Ligore", the Latin for camp of the dwellers on the river Legro. Indeed, ancient Roman baths and pavements still remain in Leicester from these times. Leicester is a very lively, multi-cultural city with a tremendous choice of pubs, restaurants, cinemas and theatres as well as excellent opportunities for shopping. Additionally, Leicester is home to the UKs National Space Centre, and the New Walk Museum and Art Gallery: host to the finest collection of German Expressionist art in the country.
Leicester is located in the heart of England with excellent connections by road, air and rail. Being situated just off the M1 motorway, Leicester is less than one hour of travel by coach from East Midlands Airport, about 1.5 hours by train from London Luton Airport and Birmingham International Airport and within 2.5 hours by train from Heathrow Airport and London Stansted Airport.
To learn more about the city, please visit http://www.le.ac.uk/leicester