About Me

Last updated: Mar 19, 2024

Daniel.Cruz [at] medicine.ufl.edu

Pronouns: he/him/his

I am a postdoctoral associate in the Laboratory for Systems Medicine at the University of Florida (Department of Medicine). The lab's overall goal is "the development and application of mathematical and computational technology for the improvement of human health".

Previously, I was a visiting assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology affiliated with the Southeast Center for Mathematics and Biology (SCMB). During that time, I worked on modeling emergent patterns within pluripotent colonies of stem cells with professors Elena Dimitrova and Melissa Kemp.

Research Interests

I am interested in mathematical models motivated by biological systems which connect local interactions with emergent, system-level properties. I study multiscale, computational models in which local (e.g. intercellular and/or biomolecular) communication gives rise to observable features (e.g. the presence or absence of pattern formation). My research falls under MSC codes 68 & 92, and the topics / tools which I employ include:

Agent-based and data-driven models incorporating spatial dynamics,
Mathematical formalisms for multiscale models (e.g. cellular automata),
Model analysis including topological data analysis, data assimilation, and model forecasting

Naming Convention: My full name is Daniel Alejandro Cruz Ortega, but I do not use "Ortega" in any professional setting.
Profile Picture Credit: UF Health Communications Team (October 23, 2023).

Upcoming and Recent Activities

(Jul 8-12, 2024) I will giving a talk at the SIAM Annual Meeting (AN24) in Spokane, WA on "Data Assimilation in Medical Models and Digital Twins".
(Jun 10-13, 2024) I will giving a talk at the SIAM Conference on the Life Sciences (LS24) in Portland, OR on "Extraction of Transcriptional Network Within Human Induced Pluripotent Colonies Via Boolean Logic".
(Jun 10-14, 2024) Alexandria Volkening, Sarah Tymochko, and I are organizing a mini symposium on "Topological Data Analysis in Dynamical Systems" at Equadiff 2024.
(Apr 25, 2024) I gave a talk at the Columbia Undergraduate Mathematics Colloquium on "Topological data analysis of pattern formation in stem cell colonies".
(Apr 4, 2024) I gave a talk at the UF Biomathematics Seminar on "Data Assimilation in Medical Models and Digital Twins".
(Mar 23-24, 2024) Skylar Grey and I organized an AMS Special Session on Diversity in Mathematical Biology at the 2024 AMS Spring Southeastern Sectional Meeting hosted at Florida State University. I gave a talk at this session on "Data Assimilation in Medical Models and Digital Twins" as well.
(Mar 7, 2024) I gave a talk at the UT Arlington Math Bio Club on "Topological data analysis of pattern formation in stem cell colonies".
(Feb 6, 2024) I was named a MGB-SIAM Early Career Fellow! I am looking forward to being a more active member of the SIAM community!

Previous News and Events

(Jan 3-6, 2024) I attended the 2024 Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Francisco, CA and served as a poster reviewer.
(Nov 18-19, 2023) I gave a talk at the 2023 Online Undergraduate Resource Fair for the Advancement and Alliance of Marginalized Mathematicians (OURFA2M2).
(Nov 3-5, 2023) I received a travel grant to attend the 16th Annual Symposium on BEER in Richmond, VA.
(Sep 25, 2023) I gave a talk at the Mathematical and Computational Biology Seminar on "Topological data analysis of pattern formation in stem cell colonies".
(Jul 16-21, 2023) Margherita Maria Ferrari and I organized a minisymposium on "Algebra, Combinatorics, and Topology in Modern Biology" at the 2023 Society for Mathematical Biology Annual Meeting.
- I will also gave a talk on "Topological data analysis of pattern formation in stem cell colonies" at a minisymposium organized by Alexandria Volkening, Andreas Buttenschoen, and Veronica Ciocanel.
(May 30 - Jul 25, 2023) As a member of the Society for Mathematical Biology (SMB) Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, I helped organize a summer seminar series to highlight the diversity in research and researchers in mathematical biology! For information, read this post.
(Mar 18-19, 2023) Margherita Maria Ferrari and I organized an AMS Special Session on Diversity in Mathematical Biology at the 2023 AMS Spring Southeastern Sectional Meeting hosted at Georgia Tech.
(Feb 16, 2023) I gave a talk at the Hunter College Mathematics Colloquium on "Topological data analysis of pattern formation in stem cell colonies".
(Feb 16, 2023) I gave a talk at the UF Biomathematics Seminar on "Estimating the Long-term Behavior of Biologically Inspired Agent-based Models".
(Feb 3, 2023) I gave a talk at the Cal Poly Mathematics Department colloquium on "Topological data analysis of pattern formation in stem cell colonies".
(Jan 15, 2023) The Lathisms scholarship is now open! Vanessa Sun and I have been working as the scholarship co-chairs for some months, and I happy to share this scholarship aimed at supported Hispanic/Latinx students interested in pursuing a career focused in the mathematical sciences!
(Jan 4-5, 2023) I gave a talk at the 2023 Joint Mathematics Meeting in an AMS Special Session on "Modeling collective behavior in biology" organized by Alexandria Volkening and Philip Maini.
(Sep 19-23, 2022) Veronica Ciocanel, Stacey Finely, Jesse Kreger, and I organized a panel on "Building Inclusive Graduate Programs in Mathematical Biology" at the 12th European Conference on Mathematical and Theoretical Biology (ECMTB 2022), which will be held in Heidelberg, Germany.
(Jul 7-9, 2022) I attended the Latinx in the Mathematical Sciences Conference 2022 hosted by the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IPAM) at the UCLA.
(May 9-13, 2022) - I attended the 2022 SCMB Workshop on Discrete and Topological Models in Molecular Biology (DTMB) and the 26th International Conference on Developments in Language Theory.
(Apr 23, 2022) - I was part of a panel at an undergraduate mathematics research conference hosted at Georgia Tech. The panel focused on sharing experiences with and giving advice to undergraduate students considering graduate studies in the mathematical sciences.
(Apr 11, 2022) - I joined the Laboratory for Systems Medicine at the University of Florida as a postdoctoral associate!
(Apr 8, 2022) - Margherita Maria Ferrari and I organized an AMS Special Session on Mathematical Models for Biomolecular and Cellular Interactions at the 2022 Joint Mathematics Meeting, which is was held virtually.
(Mar 26-27, 2022) - Invited talk ("Evaluating Reproducibility in Agent-based Models of Cellular Biology") at the AMS Spring Central Sectional Meeting, Special Session on Mathematics of Complex Systems in Biology.
(Feb 2, 2022) - Invited seminar talk ("Agent-based modeling of emergent patterning within stem cell colonies") at UC Merced's mathematical biology seminar.
(Nov 20, 2021) - Invited talk ("Boolean Network Modeling of FGF Signaling Within Pluripotent Stem Cell Colonies") at the AMS Fall Southeastern Sectional Meeting, Special Session on Algebra, Combinatorics, and Topology in Biological Structures.
(Oct 27, 2021) - I was featured on the a blog post of the Society for Mathematical Biology Subgroup on Cell and Developmental Biology: https://smb-celldevbio.github.io/2021-10-27-CruzBlog/
(Oct 27, 2021) - My review on "Hybrid computational modeling methods for systems biology" with Melissa Kemp is out now: https://doi.org/10.1088/2516-1091/ac2cdf
(Jun 17, 2021) - I won a poster prize at the 2021 Annual Society of Mathematical Biology Meeting in the Cell & Developmental Biology category for my work on the SCMB seed project with Elena Dimitrova and Melissa Kemp!
(Jun 17, 2021) - Margherita Maria Ferrari and I organized a mini-symposium on Algebra, Combinatorics, and Topology in Modern Biology at the 2021 Annual Society of Mathematical Biology Meeting.