This event is the second edition of the "Probability Meets Biology" workshop, following a first successful meeting in 2019. This collaborative workshop is an opportunity for researchers from mathematics or biology backgrounds to work together in groups on open problems which have a biological motivation but involve randomness or noise, and whose study is expected to give rise to new probabilistic objects and innovative mathematical methods as well as biological insight.
Draft programme
Monday
09:45-10:30 Registration + coffee
10:30-10:45 Introduction
10:45-11:45 Talk 1 - Noemi Kurt - The Λ-asymmetric Moran model
11:45-12:30 Talk 2 - Sylvain Billiard - How is self-incompatibility in flowering plants so diverse? A case-study for modelling the role of chance in evolution from the beginnings of population genetics to today
12:30-13:00 Group discussion, questions
13:00-14:00 Lunch
14:00-14:45 Talk 3 - Raphael Forien - Adaptation to gradual environmental change
14:45-15:30 Talk 4 - Guillaume Achaz - Lewontin's paradox and the effect of linked selection
15:30-16:45 Coffee, group discussion, questions
Tuesday
09:30-10:15 Talk 5 - Lauren Cowley - Dimensionality reduction in machine learning for microbial genomics
10:15-10:30 Coffee
10:30-10:40 Short talk 1 - Nathanaël Boutillon
10:40-10:50 Short talk 2 - Hannah Dopmeyer
10:50-11:00 Short talk 3 - Brice Zotsa Ngoufack
11:00-11:10 Break
11:10-11:20 Short talk 4 - Andrew Brinkworth
11:20-11:30 Short talk 5 - Isabella Alvarenga
11:30-11:40 Short talk 6 - Jan Lukas Igelbrink
11:40-12:10 Group discussion, questions
12:10-12:30 Group formation
12:30 Lunch
13:30 onwards: Collaborative group work (room 1W 2.104 also available for use)
Wednesday
09:30-11:45 Collaborative group work (coffee at 10:30)
11:45-12:30 Brief updates on progress (optional)
12:30-13:30 Lunch
13:30-17:00 Collaborative group work
Thursday
09:30-10:30 Progress report preparation in groups (room 1W 2.104 also available for use)
10:30-11:00 Coffee
11:00-12:00 Progress reports, next steps
12:00-12:30 Group wrap-ups
12:30-13:30 Lunch
Travel and accommodation
The workshop will be held on the University of Bath campus. Bath Spa train station is located in the city centre, and is well served by national train connections. The nearest airports are Bristol airport (approx 50 minutes by bus to Bath city centre) and London Heathrow airport (approx 1h45 by train or 2h by bus).
Getting to campus: The University campus is located up a large, steep hill. The walk to and from campus is very nice, especially in good weather, but much harder work on the way up the hill (to campus) than down (from campus to the city). There are regular buses, the U1, between the city and campus. It may be helpful to install the First bus app on your smartphone, both for buying tickets and tracking buses.
Venue: The workshop will take place in 1W 2.101. From the main parade on campus, building 1W is next to the library (the big glass structure), and 2.101 is on the same level as the parade. Note that there are actually two entrances: from the side, which leads more directly to room 2.101, and from the front, which is more obvious but less direct, though there are signs pointing the way.
Accommodation: for those with on-campus accommodation, your room will be in Woodland Court. We will have the keys at the workshop for collection - make sure you collect yours before the end of the day, otherwise you will have to go to either the West Accommodation Centre (before 10pm) or Security (after 10pm).
Expense reimbursement: for those who were promised travel funding, please fill in a visitors expense claim form and send it, with receipts, to Apolline. You can fill in the form multiple times e.g. if you need reimbursement for flights immediately and other expenses after the workshop. Don't convert between currencies, just enter the amount in the currency that you paid in and leave the "total" box blank, and the finance office will calculate the correct rate.
During your stay
Wifi: Eduroam is available on campus. If you do not have access to eduroam, you can use the "WiFi Guest" network; you will need to register, and it is slower than Eduroam.
Lunch: Lunch will be provided Monday to Thursday.
Dinner on Weds 28th June: This will be an informal event at the Hall and Woodhouse, 1 Old King Street, BA1 2JW, at 19:00. Please note that we don't have funding for this dinner so everyone except the main speakers will need to pay for themselves. If you haven't already filled in the Google Sheet with your food choices, and would like to join us for dinner, please contact one of the organisers.
City of Bath: The city is generally safe to walk around and there are many nice restaurants and pubs to try. It is a fairly small town, so you can do most things on foot. Bath is a Roman town, hence it has a beautiful architecture and there are several places you may wish to visit, such as the Abbey, the Circus, the Royal Crescent or the Roman baths.