1. News - updates from: 
   • SMB Subgroups
   • Royal Society Publishing
2. People - Interview with new editor Olivia Chu.
3. Editorial - After a productive summer - About the SMB and ECMTB Conferences
   • ECMTB 2024 - Burcu Gürbüz
   • KSMB-SMB 2024 - Ryan Murphy, University of Melbourne
4. Featured Figures - SMB Poster prize winners
   • Luke Heirene
   • Yuan Yin

To see the articles in this issue, click the links at the above items.

Contributing content

Issues of the newsletter are released four times per year in Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. The newsletter serves the SMB community with news and updates, so please share it with your colleagues and contribute content to future issues.

We welcome your submissions to expand the content of the newsletter.  The next issue will be released in late October, so if you would like to contribute, please send an email to the editors by the start of October 2023 to discuss how your content can be included. This could include summaries of relevant conferences that you have attended, suggestions for interviews, professional development opportunities etc. Please note that job advertisements should be sent to the SMB digest rather than to the newsletter.

If you have any suggestions on how to improve the newsletter and would like to become more involved and/or contribute, please contact us at any time. We appreciate and welcome feedback and ideas from the community. The editors can be reached at newsletter@smb.org.

We hope you enjoy this issue of the newsletter!

Sara, Burcu, Thomas and Olivia
Editors, SMB Newsletter

News Section

By Sara Loo 

In this issue of the News section, we highlight the updates from the SMB Subgroups and Royal Society Publishing. Read on below.

SMB Subgroups Update

Mathematical Neuroscience Subgroup

The SMB Mathematical Neuroscience subgroup was actively engaged at the 2024 SMB annual meeting held at Konkuk University in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The event featured posters, contributed talk sessions, and mini-symposiums covering a diverse range of topics in mathematical neuroscience, including multi-scale networks, neurodegenerative diseases, neural oscillations, and coding. The research presentations were dynamic and well-attended, fostering insightful questions and discussions. 

The subgroup remained vibrant despite a modest representation, holding a social gathering on Tuesday evening (July 2) at a local Korean Restaurant.  Approximately 15 members attended, enjoying the opportunity to reconnect with old friends and make new connections. 

Immunobiology and Infection Subgroup

Immunobiology and Infection Subgroup dinner at KSMB-SMB 2024 in Seoul, South Korea

The Immunobiology and Infection Subgroup hosted a dinner attended by 30 of its members on the Tuesday of the KSMB-SMB2024 conference. Yongdam Jeong helped coordinate a booking for a local Korean BBQ restaurant called HANAM PIG restaurant. The food was delicious and cooked by the staff on BBQs at every table. There was lots of networking and the overarching feedback from the event was that it was really wonderful to spend time as a group. A huge thank you to Yongdam Jeong and Adrianne Jenner who organized and hosted the event. Looking forward to getting together at SMB 2025!  

The subgroup’s annual business meeting will be held on September 13, 2024.

Royal Society Publishing

The Royal Society's journals Proceedings A and Interface welcome submissions of research and review articles in Mathematical Biology. They offer a range of services including rapid publication, rigorous peer review, international recognition and the option of open access publication. All Royal Society journals are compliant with funder mandates (such as Plan S). Royal Society Publishing is committed to high quality, open and ethical publishing and, as a not-for-profit society publisher, the income they generate goes back into supporting and progressing the global scientific community by funding the activities of the Society. 

Browse recent content from Interface and Proceedings A including GIS-ODE: linking dynamic population models with GIS to predict pathogen vector abundance across a country under climate change scenarios A J Worton, R A Norman, L Gilbert and R B Porter FREELY available!

Browse recent theme issues from Philosophical Transactions A including The effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions on the COVID-19 pandemic: the evidence compiled and edited by Professor Sir Mark Walport and the articles are also FREE to access.

People Section

By Thomas Woolley

Interview with Olivia Chu (Bryn Mawr College), one of our new newsletter editors. 

Editorial

After a productive summer - About the SMB and ECMTB Conferences

Reflection on ECMTB

By Burcu Gürbüz 

This summer was enriched by two important mathematical biology conferences. First, the joint annual meeting of the Korean Society for Mathematical Biology and the Society for Mathematical Biology (KSMB-SMB 2024 Seoul) was held from June 30 to July 5 at the Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Second, the 13th European Conference on Mathematical and Theoretical Biology (ECMTB'24 Toledo) was held between July 22 - 26 at the University of Castilla La Mancha, Toledo Campus, Spain. 

ECMTB'24 was successfully organized by Víctor Manuel Pérez García and his team. The biennial conference brought together leading researchers and academics in Mathematical Biology to discuss current and interdisciplinary topics in applied mathematics, theoretical biology, and also to facilitate the development of new techniques and methodologies for modeling complex biological systems. The conference was attended by more than 5000 participants from all over the world. ECMTB'24 had a rich scientific program with mini-symposium and contributed talks, with poster sessions and also with plenary talks with the following details: Evrim Acar Ataman (SIMULA), Christina Cobbold (University of Glasgow), Patricia Reynaud-Bouret (Université Côte d'Azur), Ivana Bozic (University of Washington), Ganna Rozhnova (University Medical Center Utrecht), Mustafa Khammash (ETH Zurich), Anna Marciniak-Czochra (Heidelberg University). As in previous editions, ECMTB'24 provided a platform for sharing research, fostering collaboration, and sparking new ideas for the esteemed researchers, scholars, and enthusiasts who joined the event in this intellectual endeavor. Alan D. Rendall and I had the privilege of organizing a mini-symposium on mathematical analysis, dynamical systems, mathematical modeling, and numerical perspectives. I was amazed by the hospitality and thoughtful organization of the conference team in the fairytale city of Toledo. In my personal experience, I really enjoyed ECMTB'24 - Toledo as it was great to meet old and new friends and distinguished researchers in the field at this prestigious conference. During the event, the annual meeting of the ESTMB was held and Benoit Perthame gave an informative presentation on the activities of the society. For the motivation of young researchers, poster awards were presented.

In addition to the scientifically rich program, the conference also featured a very thoughtful social program that included a guided tour of the city of Toledo, a cocktail party at the Patio de Covarrubias and a conference dinner at El Cigarral on the Tagus River with a magnificent view of the historic city of Toledo.

 Group picture of the ECMTB’24, Patio de Covarrubias, Toledo, Spain

Reflection on KSMB-SMB 2024

By Ryan Murphy, University of Melbourne

The recent KSMB-SMB 2024 conference at Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea brought together leading and emerging researchers from across the world. The week comprised of a host of fantastic plenaries, mini-symposia presentations, contributed talks and posters, and workshops on the latest advances in mathematical biology across all SMB subgroup areas. It was great to hear the stimulating discussions continue long into the breaks and beyond. 

There are too many scientific highlights that it would be unfair to name only a few. Alongside the fantastic science and discussion, the conference will long be remembered for the conference dinner with traditional dancing, Taekwondo/K-POP hybrid followed by a performance of Gangnam Style, the organised excursions, and thoughtful touches. I would also like to thank the conference co-chairs Prof. Yangjin Kim and Prof. Ilhyo Jung, all members of the organising committee and scientific committee, and all helpers for making the event such a brilliant success and for setting such a high bar for future editions. 

On a more personal note, as this was my first in-person SMB conference it was fantastic to put faces to names and be welcomed into the community with friendly and engaging discussions. I would also like to thank the SMB for their support in facilitating my participation through the Landahl Travel Grant. 

I look forward to seeing you all at SMB 2025!