News

• Welcoming New Scientific Leaders
• Alex Mogilner Video Feature
• New Snow Fly Study From NITMB Faculty
• Guanao Yan Affiliate Member Bio



Upcoming Events

• NITMB Seminar Series
• Modularity of Biological Systems | April 13 - 17, 2026
• Evolutionary Games: Mathematical Theory and Biological Insights | May 11 - 15, 2026 | Local Applications Still Being Accepted
• Extreme Events in Biological Functions | June 1 - 5, 2026 | Applications open

Opportunities

• AI+Science Summer School 2026
• Focused Research Group Awards
• Workshop Proposals
• Visitor Program
• Long Program Proposals

NITMB is excited to announce that Lisa Fauci (Pendergraft Nola Lee Haynes Professor, Mathematics, Tulane University) and Alan Hastings (Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Environmental Sciences & Policy, University of California, Davis) have joined the Institute as Scientific Leaders.

NITMB Scientific Leaders act as hands-on guides who directly shape the science supported by the Institute. We are thrilled to welcome Lisa Fauci and Alan Hastings to NITMB's leadership, and we look forward to the valuable contributions they will make in shaping the future of NITMB-supported science.

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Watch: Alex Mogilner on harnessing AI and machine learning to drive discovery in cytoskeletal machines

Explore exciting work harnessing AI tools for discovery in cellular mechanics, and discover what makes NITMB the best place to build collaborations and chart future directions, with Alex Mogilner!

Alex Mogilner is a Professor of Mathematics and Biology at New York University. At NITMB, Alex Mogilner was an organizer of the 'Machine Learning of Cytoskeletal Machines (Cell Migration and Mitosis)' workshop.

Watch Now

Some like it cold: Snow flies create their own heat to avoid freezing

A new study from NITMB faculty member Marco Gallio and NITMB Deputy Director of Broader Impacts, William Kath, finds specialized 'snow flies' produce bursts of heat and antifreeze proteins.

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Quantifying biological mechanisms from modern omics data: A conversation witih Guanao Yan

Meet Guanao Yan, assistant professor in the Department of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering (CMSE) at Michigan State University!

Meet Guanao Yan

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

Upcoming NITMB Seminars

Join us at NITMB or online for the next entries in the NITMB Seminar Series!

April 10th: Andreas Buttenschön, Assistant Professor, Applied Mathematics, University of Massachusetts Amherst

April 17th*: Reinhard Laubenbacher, Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine; Director, Laboratory for Systems Medicine, University of Florida

NITMB Special Seminar on Tuesday, April 21st at 4pm:

David Radke, Senior Research Scientist, Chicago Blackhawks

*Part of the 'Modularity of Biological Systems' workshop. All are welcome to attend this seminar.

The NITMB Seminar Series brings together a mix of mathematicians and biologist to foster discussion and collaboration between the two fields. Seminars take place on Fridays from 10am - 11am at the NITMB in the John Hancock Center in downtown Chicago.

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Local Applications Still Being Accepted:

Evolutionary Games: Mathematical Theory and Biological Insights

May 11 - 15, 2026

Join us for an exploration of how evolutionary game theory (EGT) helps us understand competition, cooperation, and behavior across biological, social, and artificial systems!

This workshop will bring together an interdisciplinary community of EGT researchers to chart new directions for theory and applications. A primary aim of the workshop is to stimulate interdisciplinary collaboration and expand the methodological scope of EGT to frequency-dependent problems across scales.

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Applications Open:

Extreme Events in Biological Function

June 1 - 5, 2026

Explore how rare and extreme events can be harnessed as constructive elements in biological systems!

This workshop will bring together experts in applied stochastic processes and biological dynamics to explore the critical yet underdeveloped role of extreme and rare events in enabling reliable biological function. Through an interdisciplinary lens, the workshop aims to advance both theory and application in understanding how biological systems capitalize on rare events for robust function.

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Applications Due April 22nd, 2026

We are excited to announce that applications are now open for the 2026 AI+Science Summer School! This is a one-of-a-kind program designed to introduce the next generation of interdisciplinary graduate students and postdocs to the field of AI+Science. For more information about the program's speakers, go to the bottom of the program's web page.

This year's AI+Science Summer School is hosted in downtown Chicago from June 22-26 and organized by the Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Fellowship and the University of Chicago Data Science Institute, and it's co-hosted by NITMB and the NSF-Simons AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI Institute).

Apply Now

Are you part of a research team that works on a project at intersections of mathematical and biological fields?

Consider applying for an NITMB Focused Research Group Award!

• Supports the in-person gathering of small teams (e.g., 3-6 people) for independent research
• Provides office space and meeting rooms at NITMB in downtown Chicago
• Covers non-local travel, lodging, and meals for stays up to 9 days. Teams may apply to return to continue their collaborations.
• Open to researchers in pure and applied mathematics, basic biological sciences, and related fields

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We invite researchers to propose a Scientific Workshop to be hosted in downtown Chicago at NITMB.

Workshops at NITMB:

• Tackle timely and pivotal research questions at the intersection of mathematics and biology
• Receive full administrative and financial support from NITMB, including lodging, travel, and local support for all non-local participants
• Generally, convene for 2 to 5 days and host 20-75 participants
• Include discussions, brainstorming, and small group launches of new research projects

Propose a Workshop

Are you faculty, research faculty, technical staff, a postdoctoral scholar, or an enrolled PhD candidate engaged in research in biological or mathematical fields?

Consider the Visitor Program of the NITMB, which provides:

• Opportunities for researchers outside the host institutions of Northwestern University and the University of Chicago to engage deeply with NITMB
• Funding for non-local researchers to come from their home institutions to NITMB in downtown Chicago
• Full access to NITMB’s science programs and facilities

Apply Now

Consider proposing a long program to be hosted in downtown Chicago by the NITMB!

Long Programs at NITMB:

• Consist of 4-10 weeks of concentrated activity in a specific area of current research interest at the intersections of biological and mathematical fields
• Receive full administrative and financial support of NITMB, including lodging, travel, and local support for all non-local participants
• Include multiple 2-5 day workshops, each hosting 25-75 participants
• Offer an opportunity to be in residence at NITMB to conduct research, collaborate with NITMB faculty and fellows, train students, and engage with affiliated visitors

Propose a Long Program