The unexpected consequences of stochasticity in cell biology

Organizers:

James Holehouse (The Santa Fe Institute), Kaan Öcal (University of Melbourne) and Augustinas Sukys (University of Melbourne)

Description:

From molecules to ecosystems, randomness has profound effects on biology at all scales. Much of the complexity of biological systems lies hidden in stochastic fluctuations and seemingly random interactions, which raises the question: how does noise manifest in biology? What are its functional roles? And how can we best work with noise? Focusing on the microscopic scale, this mini-symposium will look at the unexpected consequences of noise across the spectrum of cell biology, emphasizing the remarkable role that randomness plays in the rules of life. (Our selected speakers are all early-career researchers working on a diverse variety of topics:) - Lucy Ham (she/her), postdoc at the University of Melbourne: How cell-to-cell communication and spatial gene regulatory networks govern multicellular organization and pattern formation. - Anish Pandya (he/him), undergraduate at UT Austin: Causation vs. correlation in modelling the life of mRNA, from transcription to degradation. - Arthur Genthon (he/him), postdoc at the MPI for the Physics of Complex Systems: How cell populations exploit variations in cell size and growth rate to proliferate. - Daniel Muratore (they/them), postdoc at the Santa Fe Institute: Stochastic macromolecular dynamics explain biogeographic patterns in the Pacific Ocean.

Diversity Statement:

This minisymposium demonstrates diversity in gender, country of origin, career stage, and topic (within the defined theme). Specifically: (i) The speakers include two males, one female, and one non-binary person. (ii) The speakers represent a variety of nationalities, including American, Indian (naturalized US citizen), French, and Australian. (iii) One speaker is a final-year undergraduate, while the other three are postdoctoral researchers with between one and four years of experience.