Mathematical Modeling of Spatial Evolution with Applications to Biomedical Systems

Recorded on 05/15/2026 Watch the recording without ads at https://www.nitmb.org/nitmb-seminar-s... Title: Mathematical Modeling of Spatial Evolution with Applications to Biomedical Systems Natalia Komarova, Ph.D. Dean’s Scholar Professor of Mathematics UC San Diego Abstract: Evolutionary dynamics permeates life and life-like systems. Mathematical methods can be used to study evolutionary processes, such as selection, mutation, and drift, and to make sense of many phenomena in life sciences. Mass-action (or mean-field) evolutionary dynamics have been studied over the last 100 years and produced an enormous wealth of useful results. In this talk, however, I will discuss how spatial interactions may change the laws of evolution, giving rise to a number of interesting and counterintuitive findings. I will discuss both explicitly spatial systems and metapopulations and demonstrate a number of scaling laws that describe production and spread of disadvantageous, neutral, and advantageous mutants. Applications of these laws to bacterial growth and carcinogenesis will be discussed. Part of the NITMB Seminar Series The NSF-Simons National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology Seminar Series brings together a mix of mathematicians and biologists to foster discussion and collaboration between the two fields. The seminar series typically takes place on Fridays from 10am - 11am at NITMB. Talks are in-person with the ability to join remotely. The NSF-Simons National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology (NITMB) aims to integrate the disciplines of mathematics and biology in order to transform the practice of biological research and to inspire new mathematical discoveries. NITMB is a partnership between Northwestern University and the University of Chicago. It is funded by the National Science Foundation DMS-2235451 and the Simons Foundations MP-TMPS-00005320. The mission of the NITMB is to create a nationwide collaborative research community that will generate new mathematical results and uncover the “rules of life” through theories, data-informed mathematical models, and computational and statistical tools. The NITMB leverages close collaborations between experimentalists and theorists to synergize discovery. The fundamental research done by the NITMB is providing a foundation for future advancements in areas as diverse as the environment, medicine, and technology development. NITMB members and visitors share space in downtown Chicago that is readily accessible to collaborators across the U.S. and the world. NITMB uses an interlocking set of strategies and initiatives aimed at broad impacts for the mathematical and biological research communities. Targeted research bringing together mathematicians and biologists to collaborate and train the next generation of interdisciplinary scientists. Scientific long programs, workshops, and conferences enhancing collaboration between mathematics and biology. An innovative research program organized around five interrelated themes, selected because they reflect key capabilities of biological systems and interconnect with open mathematical problems.