News

• Ribbon Cutting Ceremony with Senator Durbin
• NITMB Affiliate Membership | Applications Open
• NITMB MathBio Convergence Conference
• Siwei Wang Affiliate Member Bio



Upcoming Events

• Microbial Communities: Energetics and Dynamics Across Space and Time | October 27 - 31, 2025
• Machine Learning of Cytoskeletal Machines (Cell Migration and Mitosis) | November 3 - 5, 2025 | Applications Open
• Expanding the Palette of Mathematics in Biology | January 20 - 22, 2026 | Applications Open
• Science + Tea at NITMB | Fridays at 3pm

Opportunities

• Workshop Proposals
• Visiting Scholars Program
• Long Program Proposals

NITMB and SkAI Celebrate Grand Opening

with Senator Durbin

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, along with representatives from Simons Foundation, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign joined the NITMB and NSF-Simons AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI) community for a grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony! Senator Durbin and institute stakeholders remarked on the exceptional potential for critical innovations to come from both institutes, as well as the benefits NITMB and SkAI will have for foundational research in mathematics, biology, astrophysics, AI, and more.

Applications Due September 1st, 2025

We are accepting applications for NITMB's Affiliate Membership program! Affiliate Members are faculty external to Northwestern University and the University of Chicago who want to become regular and active participants in NITMB research, convening programs, and training. NITMB Affiliate Members gain access to the NITMB space, opportunities to shape programs, priority review of program applications, and more.

Apply Now

Thank you for joining us at the NITMB MathBio Convergence Conference!

NITMB recently held the Institute's inaugural MathBio Convergence Conference! Participants from around the world gathered in Chicago to present and discuss research at the frontier between mathematics and biology. Recordings of talks from the conference are available on the NITMB website and NITMB YouTube channel.

Learn More

Understanding neural computation in natural environments

Meet Siwei Wang, NITMB Affiliate Member and Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Stony Brook University!

Meet Siwei Wang

If you'd like to be featured in a future newsletter, please contact NITMB's Digital Media Specialist, Ben Stemen (stemenb@uchicago.edu)

Applications Open:

Machine Learning of Cytoskeletal Machines (Cell Migration and Mitosis)

November 3 - 5, 2025

Discover opportunities to use machine learning and artificial intelligence approaches in the study of cytoskeleton and mechanochemical machines driving cell movements and division!

This workshop will convene data scientists, experimental biologists, mathematical modelers and biophysicists using or interested in starting to use machine learning to study cytoskeletal dynamics, cell migration and mitosis. The workshop is structured to help participants identify the most promising opportunities for developing and using ML tools to answer biological questions.

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Applications Open:

Expanding the Palette of Mathematics in Biology

January 20 - 22, 2026

Explore biological questions in new theoretical ways and give rise to new mathematical problems!

This workshop will bring together mathematicians working on areas not traditionally associated with "mathematical biology" and biologists interested in exploring their biological questions in new theoretical ways. The goal is to identify specific biological questions that could be viewed from different mathematical lenses, and to foster mutual interaction between the two groups.

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Join us every Friday at 3pm for a weekly social event at the NITMB office. Cookies, Cuppa, and Chalk. Come science-alize (science + socialize)!

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We invite the proposals for scientific workshops to be held at the NSF-Simons National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology. A Scientific Workshop is a focused program in a specific area of current research at the intersection of biological and mathematical sciences. NITMB workshops range from 2 to 5 days and typically have only a few formal talks, with the bulk of the time allocated for tutorials, discussions, brainstorming, informal chalk talks, and initiating research projects within smaller groups. Scientific workshops receive full administrative and financial support from the Institute.

Propose a Workshop

Participants in the Visiting Scholars program will be appointed for an extended period to visit and work in the NITMB headquarters and participate in the vibrant intellectual life of the NITMB, including workshops, seminars, tutorials, and work-in-progress meetings. NITMB Visiting Scholars will be granted a shared office and, upon request, may also be affiliated with one or more of the NITMB's research groups.



Apply Now

Long Programs offer the opportunity for faculty, postdocs, and students to be in residence at the NITMB. Those in residence conduct research, collaborate with NITMB faculty and NITMB fellows, provide training opportunities for students, and engage with additional visitors. Long Programs address one or more of our five research themes over the course of 4-10 weeks. Long programs receive administrative and financial support from the Institute, allowing organizers to focus on the scientific aspects of the activities.

Propose a Long Program