Biological Applications of Computer Algebra

Recent advances in the life sciences have created a growing demand for rigorous computational tools that provide global and certifiable information about complex models and high-dimensional data sets. This gives rise to many new and interesting computational challenges that are often of an algebraic nature.

The goal of this session will be to bring together experts in a wide range of topics at the intersection of computational biology and computer algebra, and to spark new conversations across methodological boundaries.

The session will highlight applications in several areas of biology, such as ecology, phylogenetics, neuroscience, reaction network theory, transcriptomics, and more. In addition, it will showcase a broad range of algebraic techniques used to address key challenges in these areas, including (but not limited to) differential algebra, numerical algebraic geometry, symbolic computation, tensor decomposition, and tropical geometry.

The session will be part of the International Congress on Mathematical Software 2026.

Confirmed speakers

• Cash Bortner (California State University, Stanislaus)

• Aviva K. Englander (University of Wisconsin–Madison)

• Max Hill (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa)

• Caitlin Lienkaemper (MIT)

• Alex Markham (University of Copenhagen)

• Samuel Martin (European Bioinformatics Institute)

• Alexey Ovchinnikov (CUNY Queens College and Graduate Center)

• Álvaro Ribot (Harvard University)

• Anne Shiu (Texas A&M)

• Roan Talbut (Durham University)

• Neriman Tokcan (University of Massachusetts Boston)

• Antony Della Vecchia (TU Berlin)

• Ruriko Yoshida (Naval Postgraduate School) 

Format

Each talk will be 20 minutes long, followed by 5 minutes for questions.