The NSF-Simons National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology is building community and expanding research possibilities with the Institute’s Research-In-Progress meetings. This meeting series convenes members of the NSF-Simons NITMB community to an informal venue for discussion of ongoing and planned projects. We are proud to invite a wide variety of scientists and mathematicians to share their work with our community. While Research-In-Progress meetings are only intended for members of the NITMB, we want to publicly spotlight some of the researchers who will be joining us to share insight into their career and work.
Srilena Kundu, postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago
Srilena Kundu is a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago. Kundu started working with Stefano Allesina, Professor of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago and member of the NITMB, in July of 2022 after completing a PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Calcutta, India.
We spoke with Srilena Kundu to learn more about Kundu’s work studying complex systems.
What is your current research area?
“A central theme that has been significant to my research, both throughout my PhD and postdoc, is measuring the resilience of diverse complex systems. Alternatively, how can we engineer the architecture of a system to withstand a wider range of perturbations.”
What disciplines does your research integrate?
“I have always found the intricacies of social and biological networks to be fascinating. From the perspective of dynamical systems, in my PhD I studied how complex interactions among many individuals lead to the emergence of various collective behavior. My current research at UChicago integrates mathematical modeling, computational and statistical approaches to solve problems in theoretical ecology.”
Where do you find inspiration?
“I find inspiration from my past and present mentors and my colleagues while discussing science and other random topics and also by attending different talks.”
What aspects of your research could be interesting to mathematicians or applied to biology?
“Due to the recent onset of global climate change, scientists are often obsessed about identifying any critical thresholds that can accelerate irreversible changes in the ecosystem known as ‘regime shift’ phenomena. Finding the ‘tipping point’ or the critical value beyond which a system’s behavior changes, is a fundamental concept in the study of regime shifts. This is akin to quantifying the dynamical robustness of a system with respect to perturbations such that it can maintain a specific dynamical behavior prior to reaching this critical threshold. Therefore, I think the central idea of my work of quantifying the robustness of a system would be of interest to theoretical researchers interested in studying the tipping behavior.”
What about the NITMB do you find exciting?
“I think the NITMB’s mission to create a collaborative environment for researchers will remove the barriers among mathematicians, biologists, theorists, and experimentalists. The long research programs at NITMB and the research meetings are an excellent opportunity for researchers across the world to work together and stimulate research in diverse areas of mathematical biology.”
What career achievement are you most proud of?
“Being the first member of my family to pursue higher education, I am proud to have earned a PhD. I am also proud of myself for securing a postdoctoral position at one of the top US universities after that.”
Outside of your research, what other interests do you have?
“I love traveling and enjoy taking photographs. I try to explore new places and different cuisines whenever I get the chance and have nice company.”
What are you hoping to work on in the future?
“In the future, I hope to use mathematical modeling approaches to work on a variety of problems related to mathematical biology. I am excited to begin my next postdoctoral journey very soon and am looking forward to collaborating with new colleagues there. Additionally, I would like to continue working on my existing projects with the Allesina group.”
Is there anything else you would like the NITMB community to know about you?
“NITMB offers a great platform for exchanging ideas and discussion, as well as for learning more about current research efforts at the interface of mathematics and biology. I am looking forward to sharing my research in the research-in-progress meeting and would welcome any feedback from the community.”
The NITMB looks forward to welcoming Srilena Kundu on Tuesday, August 27th as part of the Research-In-Progress meeting series. More information about Kundu’s work is available on Google Scholar and ResearchGate.