Applied Math Colloquium Talk - Dr. Kamran Kaveh
Room: 204
Title: Evolutionary dynamics in finite populations; a statistical physical approach
Abstract: Statistical models can be used to quantify evolutionary processes such as mutation, selection, and drift. These models directly describe fundamental problems in biology such as drug resistance, cancer evolution, evolution of virulence as well as questions regarding the origin of life. We overview stochastic and statistical models that describe Darwinian evolution. The spatial interactions, the hierarchical relationships between individuals and environmental interaction all influences evolutionary dynamics. We focus on birth-death processes in finite populations and show how some insights from statistical physics can help building new modeling approaches.