Math for Science at MPI-CBG

Silviana Amethyst from our ASB group is teaching the Computational Algebraic Geometry course at the Gene Golub #SIAM summer school in Montréal (August 4-15th: www.siam.org/programs-ini...). Topics: foundations of, software of, & advances & open problems in computational algebraic geometry 😊. Enjoy!

Novel Research in Biological Artificial Intelligence Expressions of interest and nominations for a Max Planck Director to lead research in the field of Biological Artificial Intelligence.

Novel Research in Biological Artificial Intelligence: Expressions of interest and nominations for a Max Planck Director to lead research in the field of Biological Artificial Intelligence @mpi-cbg.de and @csbdresden.bsky.social. More information: www.mpi-cbg.de/news-outreac...

Claudia Fevola from INRIA Saclay is with us this week, visiting Türkü Özlüm Çelik - they are working on algebraic curves and the solution to the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation used in modelling the motion of water waves. Welcome Claudia!

Mathematical Research & Collaborations Manager (m/f/d) – Max Planck Institut für Molekulare Zellbiologie und Genetik We are looking for: Mathematical Research & Collaborations Manager (m/f/d), Full Time, Dresden

We’re looking for a mathematical research and collaboration manager to join our new initiative of mathematics in a biology institute in Dresden, Germany! @csbdresden.bsky.social @mpi-cbg.de @math-mpicbg.bsky.social

Please share widely: careers.mpi-cbg.de/jobs/5734151...

Thanks to @aidadoesmath.bsky.social and Max Wiesmann for organising this Dresden-Leipzig meetup! And for the MTO at @mpi-cbg.de for this beautiful picture of all the attendees.

A great short chalk talk on game theory from Irem Portakal from MPI-MiS.

A couple of beautiful short talks from PhD students Elke Neuhaus from MPI-MiS on quantum chemistry, and Leon Renkin @leon-renkin.bsky.social from MPI-CBG on persistent homology in organoids.

We had a couple of short talks over lunch, including one from Niharika Chakrabarty Paul from MPI-MiS, about computing phylogenetic invariants for time-reversible models, from a paper (arxiv.org/abs/2505.20526) that started at the Women in Algebraic Statistics workshop in Oxford last year :)

Eric Pichon-Pharabod from the Numerical Algebraic Geometry group at MPI-MiS is now talking on algebraic curves.

sometimes we’re using metaphorical chalk

And now Ben Hollering - a Humboldt postdoc from TU Munich and long term guest of MPI-MiS in Leipzig - is telling us about graphical continuous Lyapunov models

Next up was Carl Modes, leader of the Network Complexity and Systems Biophysics group here at @mpi-cbg.de and @csbdresden.bsky.social, talking about the theoretical underpinnings of morphogenesis: topology and geometry meeting biology.

Awesome new paper in @nature.com from PhD student Benjamin Yang @benjaminojr.bsky.social from the Algebraic Systems Biology Group!

I posted about this paper this a while ago on another website, but figured I'd post it here now that I have a few followers. (Joint with @haharrington.bsky.social, Jacob Leygonie, @uzulim.bsky.social, and Louis Theran).

arxiv.org/abs/2411.08201

1/10

We did it! 🎉 🍾🥂

Our Excellence Cluster Physics of Life (PoL) got renewed until 2032! I am so proud of our team and all the great work we did to achieve this.

👏🥳 'Funding the Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life for its next phase represents an outstanding opportunity to bring cutting-edge research at PoL to a new level. PoL will use its unique perspective to understand key features of living systems, including the emergence of function and robustness.'

Topology across Scales on Heterogeneous Cell Data Multiplexed imaging allows multiple cell types to be simultaneously visualised in a single tissue sample, generating unprecedented amounts of spatially-resolved, biological data. In topological data a...

For more, check out the paper! arxiv.org/abs/2505.02717

And it was shown that cell localisation patterns occurring at multiple spatial scales are relevant for disease progression.

Vectorisation weightings for persistence diagrams were shown to be a computationally efficient alternative to multiparameter persistent homology. The methodology was validated on two annotated, multiplexed tissue datasets—lupus murine spleen and COVID-19-affected human lungs.

Perez et al introduce a novel visualisation method—persistence weighted death simplices (PWDS)—which maps topological features detected by persistent homology back to their locations in the original tissue data, enhancing interpretability

Topology across Scales on Heterogeneous Cell Data Multiplexed imaging allows multiple cell types to be simultaneously visualised in a single tissue sample, generating unprecedented amounts of spatially-resolved, biological data. In topological data a...

New paper on arXiv! 'Topology across scales on heterogeneous cell data', From Maria Torras Perez, @torrasperez.bsky.social, Heather Harrington @haharrington.bsky.social, et al: arxiv.org/abs/2505.02717

Talks, discussions, great dinners, and even some Mathletics (thanks Hannah and Tessa!). A wonderful retreat.

We had many others too, but here’s us celebrating Maria Torras Pérez’s @torrasperez.bsky.social new paper going up on arXiv about a new visualisation method to study spatial patterns in cell distribution data. More to come on this!

Sergio Serrano de Haro Iváñez @sergiosdhi.bsky.social from the Algebraic Systems Biology group explaining how topological data analysis can be applied to colorectal cancer.

Joining us at the retreat, and soon also as a postdoc in @aidadoesmath.bsky.social’s group is Carlotta Langer talking about information-theoretic complexity measures in the context of integrated information theory. Madly interesting stuff.

Karel Devriendt, a postdoc with @turkuozlumcelik.bsky.social in the Mathematical Structures and Applications group, talking about his work on discretising curvature in graphs.

Silviana Amethyst, a Research Engineer also in the Algebraic Systems Biology group, showcasing Bertini2, a program for solving polynomial systems: silviana.org/computer_pro...

Kelly Maggs @k311ym4gg5.bsky.social, a postdoc in the Algebraic Systems Biology group, thinking about ways of coming from mathematics and approaching interdisciplinary work with biologists

A few snippets from our retreat. First up, Türkü Özlüm Çelik @turkuozlumcelik.bsky.social, one of our math group leaders, giving a window into her ideas about computational algebraic geometry. ‘This showcases how fruitful and delicate a mathematical structure of some natural phenomenon can be’.

Highlights to come from Brunów, Poland, but here we all are! All current and upcoming members. A wonderful couple of days getting to know more about each others’ work. All three groups together: @haharrington.bsky.social, Türkü Özlüm Çelik, and @aidadoesmath.bsky.social 🩵🩵🩵