The Durham Symposium on Mathematical Biology brought together around 100 researchers from the UK, Europe and North America to explore mathematical approaches to biological problems. As part of the programme, Professor Philip Maini FRS delivered the Pascal Public Lecture, demonstrating how mathematics can generate insights into biology, ecology and medicine.
Hosted by the Department of Mathematical Sciences, the Symposium featured a programme spanning applications of partial differential equations and spatially discrete modelling approaches. Through talks and poster sessions, participants had opportunities to share their research, exchange ideas and discuss recent developments in mathematical biology.
A highlight of the programme was the Pascal Public Lecture, which was open to members of the public as well as Symposium participants. Professor Philip Maini FRS from the University of Oxford delivered the lecture, entitled Using Mathematics in Biology, Ecology and Medicine, on Wednesday 9 September.
In his lecture, Professor Maini explored how mathematical modelling can generate new insights into areas not traditionally associated with mathematics.
His examples ranged from Alan Turing’s seminal work on pattern formation and the classical Lotka–Volterra model of interactions between animal species to new treatment strategies for certain types of cancer. Aimed at a general audience, the lecture demonstrated the vital role mathematics can play in understanding complex biological, ecological and medical questions.
Professor Maini is Professor of Mathematical Biology and Director of the Wolfson Centre for Mathematical Biology at the University of Oxford. He is internationally recognised for his work on the mathematical modelling of tumours, wound healing and embryonic pattern formation, as well as the theoretical analysis of these models.
His honours include the London Mathematical Society’s Naylor Prize, the Arthur T. Winfree Prize from the Society for Mathematical Biology, the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications Gold Medal and the Royal Society’s Sylvester Medal.
Together, the Durham Symposium and Pascal Public Lecture provided a platform for specialist research and wider public engagement, encouraging discussion across the mathematical biology community while demonstrating how mathematics can offer valuable perspectives on some of the most complex questions in the life sciences.
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