EPFL BioE Talks SERIES "Slow Cell Migration and Fluctuations Can Help Eradicate Cooperative Antimicrobial Resistance in Time-Varying Environments"
Event details
| Date | 07.04.2025 |
| Hour | 12:30 › 13:30 |
| Speaker | Prof. Mauro Mobilia, School of Mathematics, University of Leeds (UK) |
| Location | Online |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
| Event Language | English |
WEEKLY EPFL BIOE TALKS SERIES (sandwiches provided)
MIND THE TIME CHANGE: TALK AT 12:30 INSTEAD OF 12:15!
Abstract:
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global threat and combating its spread is of paramount importance. AMR often results from a cooperative behaviour with shared drug protection [1]. Microbial communities generally evolve in volatile, spatially structured settings. Migration, fluctuations, and environmental variability thus significantly impact AMR. While AMR is enhanced by cell migration in static conditions, this changes in time-fluctuating spatially structured environments [2]. In this talk, we will consider a two-dimensional metapopulation consisting of demes in which drug-resistant and sensitive cells evolve in a time-changing environment containing a toxin against which protection can be shared. Cells migrate between demes and connect them. When the environment varies neither too quickly nor too slowly, population bottlenecks cause extinctions countered by migration. In discussing the influence of migration and environmental variability on AMR, we will unveil the near-optimal conditions for resistance eradication and show how slow migration speeds up and enhances AMR clearance. Time permitting, I will outline the potential impact of our studies on laboratory-controlled experiments. Research funded by the EPSRC and NSF.
References:
[1] L. Hernandez-Navarro, M. Asker, A. M. Rucklidge, and M. Mobilia. J. R. Soc. Interface, 20, 20230393 (2023). https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2023.0393
[2] L. Hernandez-Navarro, K. Distefano, U. C. Tauber, and M. Mobilia. BioRxiv 2024.12.30.630406. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.12.30.630406
Bio:
Mauro Mobilia obtained his PhD from EPFL in 2002 with a thesis on non-equilibrium statistical physics. From 2002 to 2005, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Boston University and Virginia Tech on a fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). In 2005, he was awarded a Humboldt Research Fellowship that he held at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. He then worked as a Research Fellow in Mathematics and at the Centre for Complexity Science of the University of Warwick (2007-2009) on an advanced SNSF fellowship. Since 2009, he has been at the School of Mathematics of the University of Leeds where he is a full professor (chair) of Applied Mathematics. His research is at the interface of mathematical biology, population dynamics and statistical physics. He is currently the principal investigator of the project "Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics of Fluctuating Populations" funded by the EPSRC and NSF in the UK and USA. At Leeds, Mauro teaches evolutionary modelling and mathematical biology.
Zoom link (with one-time registration for the whole series) for attending remotely: https://go.epfl.ch/EPFLBioETalks
Instructions for 1st-year Ph.D. students who are under EDBB’s mandatory seminar attendance rule:
IN CASE you cannot attend in-person in the room, please make sure to
MIND THE TIME CHANGE: TALK AT 12:30 INSTEAD OF 12:15!
Abstract:
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global threat and combating its spread is of paramount importance. AMR often results from a cooperative behaviour with shared drug protection [1]. Microbial communities generally evolve in volatile, spatially structured settings. Migration, fluctuations, and environmental variability thus significantly impact AMR. While AMR is enhanced by cell migration in static conditions, this changes in time-fluctuating spatially structured environments [2]. In this talk, we will consider a two-dimensional metapopulation consisting of demes in which drug-resistant and sensitive cells evolve in a time-changing environment containing a toxin against which protection can be shared. Cells migrate between demes and connect them. When the environment varies neither too quickly nor too slowly, population bottlenecks cause extinctions countered by migration. In discussing the influence of migration and environmental variability on AMR, we will unveil the near-optimal conditions for resistance eradication and show how slow migration speeds up and enhances AMR clearance. Time permitting, I will outline the potential impact of our studies on laboratory-controlled experiments. Research funded by the EPSRC and NSF.
References:
[1] L. Hernandez-Navarro, M. Asker, A. M. Rucklidge, and M. Mobilia. J. R. Soc. Interface, 20, 20230393 (2023). https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2023.0393
[2] L. Hernandez-Navarro, K. Distefano, U. C. Tauber, and M. Mobilia. BioRxiv 2024.12.30.630406. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.12.30.630406
Bio:
Mauro Mobilia obtained his PhD from EPFL in 2002 with a thesis on non-equilibrium statistical physics. From 2002 to 2005, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Boston University and Virginia Tech on a fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). In 2005, he was awarded a Humboldt Research Fellowship that he held at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. He then worked as a Research Fellow in Mathematics and at the Centre for Complexity Science of the University of Warwick (2007-2009) on an advanced SNSF fellowship. Since 2009, he has been at the School of Mathematics of the University of Leeds where he is a full professor (chair) of Applied Mathematics. His research is at the interface of mathematical biology, population dynamics and statistical physics. He is currently the principal investigator of the project "Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics of Fluctuating Populations" funded by the EPSRC and NSF in the UK and USA. At Leeds, Mauro teaches evolutionary modelling and mathematical biology.
Zoom link (with one-time registration for the whole series) for attending remotely: https://go.epfl.ch/EPFLBioETalks
Instructions for 1st-year Ph.D. students who are under EDBB’s mandatory seminar attendance rule:
IN CASE you cannot attend in-person in the room, please make sure to
- send D. Reinhard a note well ahead of time (ideally before seminar day), informing that you plan to attend the talk online, and, during seminar:
- be signed in on Zoom with a recognizable user name (not any alias making it difficult or impossible to identify you).
Practical information
- Informed public
- Registration required
Organizer
- Prof. Anne-Florence Bitbol, Institute of Bioengineering
Contact
- Institute of Bioengineering (IBI), Dietrich REINHARD