Sara Loo (Johns Hopkins University), Burcu Gürbüz (Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz), Thomas Woolley (Cardiff University), and Olivia Chu (Bryn Mawr College).

1. Editorial - A message from SMB President Jane Heffernan and President-Elect Reinhard Laubenbacher 
2. News - updates from: 
   • SMB Subgroups
   • Royal Society Publishing
3. People - Interview with Dr. Marissa Renardy, GSK.
4. Featured Figures - Micah Brush

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 submissions to expand the content of the newsletter.  The next issue will be released in April, so if you would like to contribute, please send an email to the editors by the start of April 2025 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 Member Forum 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

Editorial

By Jane Heffernan and Reinhard Laubenbacher

The SMB was founded in 1973 to promote the development and dissemination of research and education at the interface between the mathematical and biological sciences. The SMB is an inclusive society and serves a diverse community of researchers and educators in academia, industry, and government agencies throughout the world. The SMB opposes any actions that counter its mission. 

Science is currently being subjected to political, ideological and financial influence in some areas of the world, including the United States. SMB members in these regions thus are in a time of great uncertainty about the future of their research and travel funding, which will ultimately affect their ability to conduct effective, groundbreaking and impactful research, dissemination and training.

At this time, the SMB would like to reassure its members that we will be advocating for the restoration of free inquiry in science wherever such freedom is threatened. 

What can members DO? 

First, we need to get as much information as we can. Some excellent sources of information to consult about the situation in the United States include Research!America and the American Institute of Biological Sciences.  

Second, now more than ever, members should reach out to everybody who will listen, most importantly elected representatives in local, state and federal governments, and help them understand the dramatic effects that recent administration actions are having (and will have) on research and their academic institutions. Do not assume that they know. 

Finally, it is crucial for the science community to engage in outreach to the public. Please let the SMB (president@SMB.org) know what you are doing in response and what you expect SMB to do. 

Sincerely,

Jane Heffernan, President

Reinhard Laubenbacher, President-Elect

News Section

By Thomas Woolley

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

Looking for New Editors

The SMB newsletter editor roles of Thomas Woolley and Sara Loo are coming to an end in a couple of issues. If you are interested in joining the newsletter team, please send an email to woolleyt1@cardiff.ac.uk.

Upcoming Conferences

The Mathematical Biology Research Centre (MBRC) in Nepal and the Central Department of Mathematics, Tribhuvan University, are hosting the International Conference on Mathematical Biology (ICMB-2025) in Pokhara, Nepal, from June 12 to 14, 2025.

Under the theme "Quantitative Modeling and Computation in Life Sciences and Medicine," the conference will serve as a platform for a diverse community of scientists dedicated to applying mathematics to life and health sciences.

ICMB-2025 aims to showcase the event's multidisciplinary nature by uniting scholars from various fields, with a primary focus on the application of mathematical principles to biological research. The conference seeks to gather research scholars from a range of disciplines across Southeast Asia and the globe.

Please Visit:
https://sites.google.com/view/icmbnepal/home?authuser=0 

SMB Subgroups Updates

Immunobiology and Infection (IMMU)

IMMU member Peter Rashkov and colleagues are co-organizing the BIOMATH2025 conference in Sofia, Bulgaria from June 15-20, 2025. There will be a Special Topic session on Mathematical Models of the Immune system in Human Disease, with topics of interest including, but not limited to within-host models of host-pathogen interactions, cancer and immunotherapy, immunity and vaccination, autoimmunity and inflammation, signaling pathways, regulatory networks, multiscale immuno-epidemiological models, etc. Registration is open until March 31, 2025.

Cell and Developmental Biology (CDEV)

CDEV Subgroup are holding two mini-symposia at the SMB Annual Meeting.

Title: From data to mechanisms: advancement in modeling in cell and developmental biology

Abstract: In many cell and developmental processes, both modeling and data analytic approaches are necessary in order to generate useful modeling predictions to guide the design of further experiments for both validating and improving biological insight. There is an increased understanding that the application of machine learning methods can also be used to enhance common data-driven modeling techniques, including parameter and equation inference, classification, and sensitivity analysis. The speakers in this session will discuss how differential equation models, stochastic models, and methods from machine learning can be combined to address questions related to cell growth, intracellular transport, cell differentiation, cell migration, and tissue development. The speakers will highlight current research progress and challenges associated with combining modeling and inference approaches in cell and developmental biology.

Royal Society Publishing

Proceedings B of the Royal Society has recently published a new special issue - "A mathematical theory of evolution": phylogenetic models dating back 100 years compiled and edited by Noah A Rosenberg, Tanja Stadler and Mike Steel and the articles can be accessed directly at https://bit.ly/PTB1919

A print version is also available at the special price of £40.00 per issue from sales@royalsociety.org 

People Section

By Sara Loo

Interview with Dr. Marissa Renardy, Associate Director of Quantitative Systems Pharmacology at GSK. 

Featured Figures

By Burcu Gürbüz

In this issue, we feature the work of Micah Brush, from the University of Victoria.

Insect populations, particularly forest pests, often exhibit “eruptive dynamics”, characterized by prolonged periods of low, endemic population densities followed by sudden, large-scale outbreaks. Understanding the mechanisms that drive these transitions is critical, especially in the context of climate change, which can alter environmental conditions and affect both insect behavior and forest ecosystems. This study by Brush and Lewis focuses on the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae), a species notorious for its devastating impact on North American forests. The authors develop a mechanistic model to elucidate the factors that contribute to these outbreaks and to predict how climate change may influence future dynamics.

The authors extend a previous model that integrates key aspects of mountain pine beetle biology with forest growth dynamics. The enhanced model introduces a fraction of low-vigor trees, which are more susceptible to beetle attacks. The primary components of the model include: beetle population dynamics, forest composition and climate variables.

Through analytical and numerical simulations, the study reveals several critical insights. The authors present threshold dynamics. The model identifies specific thresholds in beetle population density and forest composition that, once crossed, can trigger rapid transitions from endemic to epidemic states. Then the impact of low-vigor trees is considered. An increase in the proportion of low-vigor trees lowers the threshold for beetle outbreaks, making forests more susceptible to epidemics. Moreover, the implications of climate change are taken into account. Climate-induced stressors, such as increased temperatures and prolonged droughts, can elevate the proportion of low-vigor trees and enhance beetle survival and reproduction rates, thereby increasing the frequency and severity of outbreaks.

Brush and Lewis’ study advances our understanding of the drivers of insect outbreaks and highlights the critical role of climate change in shaping future dynamics. The mechanistic model provides a valuable tool for predicting potential outbreaks and informing management practices to mitigate pest impacts on forest ecosystems.

Figure: Comparison of the fixed points in the model with no low-vigor trees (f=0), with only low-vigor trees (f=1), and with a small number of low-vigor trees (f=0.1). Figure 1 demonstrates graphically how these fixed points arise. It illustrates the structure of the model, detailing the interactions between beetle populations, tree vigor, and environmental factors. This schematic is critical to understanding the basic assumptions and components of the model.