News

• Welcoming New NITMB Affiliate Members
• New Workshop Talk Recordings Available
• Announcing: Focused Research Group Awards
• Sergei Maslov Affiliate Member Bio



Upcoming Events

• NITMB Seminar Series
• Expanding the Palette of Mathematics in Biology | January 20 - 22, 2026 | Local applications still being accepted
• Modularity of Biological Systems | April 13 - 17, 2026 | Applications Open
• Evolutionary Games: Mathematical Theory and Biological Insights | May 11 - 15, 2026 | Applications open

Opportunities

• Workshop Proposals
• Visitor Program
• Long Program Proposals

Welcoming New NITMB Affiliate Members

We're excited to welcome 45 new NITMB Affiliate Members to the Institute! NITMB Affiliate Members are faculty from institutions external to Northwestern University and the University of Chicago who want to become regular and active participants in NITMB research, convening programs, and training.

Meet the New Affiliate Members

New Workshop Talk Recordings Available

Thank you for joining us at the 'Microbial Communities: Energetics and Dynamics Across Space and Time' and 'Machine Learning of Cytoskeletal Machines (Cell Migration and Mitosis)' workshops!

Recordings from these two workshops are available now on the NITMB website and NITMB YouTube channel.

Watch Recordings from 'Microbial Communities: Energetics and Dynamics Across Space and Time'

Watch Recordings from 'Machine Learning of Cytoskeletal Machines (Cell Migration and Mitosis)'

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

We're excited to announce NITMB's Focused Research Group Awards! These awards:

• Support 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

We welcome mathematicians in areas of mathematics not traditionally used in biological contexts or who wish to learn more about opportunities for mathematics in the biological sciences. We also welcome biologists who wish to learn how to employ specific mathematical and computational approaches in their research.

Learn More and Apply

Exploring microbial communities with mathematical models

Meet Sergei Maslov, NITMB Affiliate Member and Professor of Bioengineering and Physics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign!

Meet Sergei Maslov

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

December NITMB Seminar

Join us virtually or in-person at NITMB for this upcoming NITMB Seminar in December:

December 5th: Rama Ranganathan, Joseph Regenstein Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Chicago

Learn More

Local Applications Still Being Accepted:

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.

Learn More

Applications Open:

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.

Learn More

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