The Bonn Center for Mathematical Life Sciences (BCML) successfully hosted the 2nd Bonn Conference on Mathematical Life Sciences, welcoming 270 participants from institutions across 20 countries. The conference highlighted the growing importance of collaboration at the interface of mathematics and the life sciences, fostering exchange between researchers from diverse disciplines.
The event was opened with welcome addresses by Martin Rumpf, speaker of the Hausdorff Center for Mathematics, and Andreas Schlitzer, speaker of the ImmunoSensation excellence cluster. Both emphasized the strategic importance of interdisciplinary research in tackling complex biological and medical challenges.
A central theme of the conference was interaction and knowledge exchange across fields. Through a rich scientific program featuring 8 keynote lectures, 14 invited talks, 82 contributed oral presentations, and 108 poster presentations, participants explored cutting-edge developments ranging from single-cell analysis and systems biology to computational modeling and data-driven approaches.
A panel discussion on “Mathematical Life Sciences in the Age of LLMs and AI Bots” brought together keynote speakers and industry representatives to discuss the transformative role of artificial intelligence in research, highlighting both opportunities and challenges for the field.
The conference also recognized outstanding contributions from early-career researchers. Five poster awards, sponsored by npj Systems Biology and Applications and the Transdisciplinary Research Area Modelling of the University of Bonn were presented to:
- Benjamin Castellaz – Bridging Model and Data: A Parametrization-and-Projection Method for Overdetermined Stochastic Inverse Problems in Systems Biology
- Isabelle Cochrane – Use of a Scattered Light Integrating Collector (SLIC) for Point of Care Testing to detect bacteria in fluid samples from Prosthetic Joint Infections of the lower limb
- Luke De Bretton-Gordon – Learning Density-Dependent Cell-Cycle Regulation with UDEs
- Sophia Krix – Integrative Single-Cell Modeling and TCR Repertoire Profiling Reveal a Sleep-Immune-Brain Axis in Early Alzheimer’s Disease
- Lennart Wicker – Mathematical Inference of T-cell Trafficking Dynamics from Single-Cell Snapshots
By bringing together experts from mathematics, biology, medicine, and industry, the conference underscored the vital role of interdisciplinary collaboration in advancing our understanding of complex biological systems. The BCML continues to strengthen Bonn’s position as a leading hub for research at the intersection of mathematics and life sciences.