MIDWEST WORKSHOP OF WOMEN IN EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
TOWARDS AN INTEGRATION OF MODERN MACHINE LEARNING METHODS TO THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Friday 12th August 2022
Department of Biology - Ball State University & Online
Workshop Overview
The 1st Midwest Workshop of Women in Experimental Biology (MWWEB 2022) will take place on August 12th, 2022. The aim of the workshop is two-fold:
Identify and develop strategies for the implementation of sophisticated quantitative and machine learning methods to disciplines within Experimental and Organismal Biology
Highlight and seek strategies to remove barriers to research, teaching, and service contributions of women and under-represented groups in Experimental and Organismal Biology
Synopsis
Extraordinary advancements in computing power have facilitated the development and applications of sophisticated statistical tools to biological fields such as genomics, ecology, and evolution. However, even now, when powerful hardware and software have never been more accessible and despite significant advancements in machine learning, physiological and organismal branches of biology, like animal behavior, functional morphology, and biomechanics, seem to be stuck in the past, with the ubiquitous and almost exclusive use of classical univariate statistics. Experimental and organismal biology is in urgent need of such modern tools to make better sense of the increasingly complex and extensive data that we are now capable of collecting.
This meeting looks to the future and strives to identify and develop strategies for the implementation of sophisticated quantitative and machine learning methods to disciplines within Experimental and Organismal Biology. Beyond this goal, we strive to both highlight the inspiring diversity and strength of the research programs of women in the biological sciences in the Midwest and seek strategies to identify and remove barriers to the participation of women in experimental biology. We will simultaneously brainstorm ideas to broaden participation in experimental biology while, at the same time, celebrating and drawing on the strength of diverse perspectives to identify fundamental biological questions that will most benefit from advancements that quantitative methods like machine learning can bring.
We place a high value on equity, diversity, and inclusion; indeed, the spirit of the meeting can’t prescind from recognizing the value that different perspectives and backgrounds bring to all scientific disciplines, particularly as we seek to integrate quantitative methods into experimental and organismal biology. Although our workshop explicitly highlights women in the biological sciences, we aim to encourage the participation of all under-represented groups and minorities in biology and enhance the interaction between them.
Registration will open on June 20th, 2022.
For more information about the meeting, please email Kathleen Lois Foster (klfoster@bsu.edu) or Alessandro Maria Selvitella (aselvite@pfw.edu). We look forward to seeing you!
Registration
Registration is free. Please, use the link below to register not later than August 5th, 2022 for IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE and not later than August 11th, 2022 for VIRTUAL ATTENDANCE.
If you have questions, please feel free to send an email to Prof. Alessandro Maria Selvitella (aselvite@pfw.edu) or Prof. Kathleen Lois Foster (klfoster@bsu.edu). We look forward to seeing you!
long talk & short talk & poster submission
If you are submitting a Long Talk (10min), a Short Talk (3min), and/or a Poster, please submit your presentation HERE no later than August 5th, 2022. Videos of Long Talks and Short Talks and PDFs of Posters will be uploaded to Gather "MWWEB" Town and will be available for the entire duration of the workshop. Four of the submitted Long Talks will be selected as Contributed Talks and authors of selected talks will have the opportunity to present live during the workshop. For more information, please refer to the Call for Submissions page.
If you have questions, please feel free to send an email to Prof. Alessandro Maria Selvitella (aselvite@pfw.edu) or Prof. Kathleen Lois Foster (klfoster@bsu.edu). We look forward to seeing you!
Important Dates
Submission Deadline: Friday August 5th, 2022 @11:59pm EDT.
Registration Deadline (IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE): Friday August 5th, 2022 @11:59pm EDT.
Registration Deadline (VIRTUAL ATTENDANCE): Thursday August 11th, 2022 @11:59pm EDT.
Workshop: Friday August 12th, 2022.
Schedule
Morning Sessions
Afternoon Sessions
8:30-9:00 Registration and Coffee
9:00-9:30 Melina Hale
9:30-9:40 Tuğba Akman Yıldız
9:40-9:50 Coffee Break
9:50-10:20 Sandy Kawano
10:20-10:30 Emily Kane
10:30-12:00 Discussion 1 - Women in Experimental Biology
12:00-13:30 Lunch
13:30-14:00 Tonia Hsieh
14:00-14:10 Tahmineh Azizi
14:10-14:20 Coffee Break
14:20-14:50 Talia Moore
14:50-15:00 Kate Garland
15:00-15:30 Kathleen Lois Foster
15:30 - 16:30 Discussion 2 - Statistics in Experimental Biology
Social Dinner
The aim of this meeting is two-fold:
1. identify and develop strategies for the implementation of sophisticated quantitative and machine learning methods to disciplines within Experimental and Organismal BiologY
2. Highlight and identify strategies to remove barriers to research, teaching, and service contributions of women and under-represented groups in experimental and organismal biology
Keynote Speakers
Melina Hale
Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy
University of Chicago
An interview with Melina Hale
In this interview, Prof. Melina Hale shares her thoughts and experiences related to the two main themes of this workshop: 1) the challenges and strategies for removing barriers facing women and under-represented groups in Experimental Biology, and 2) experiences and strategies related to integrating advanced statistical methods into Experimental Biology.
How to run (like a lizard) on sand
Running on sand is challenging because of its tendency to repeatedly transition between fluid-like and solid-like states during a step. Whereas material solidification and particle jamming may facilitate force production during a step, fluidization can in turn lead to foot slipping and decreases in running performance. We examine how feet contend with these challenging environmental situations using a combination of animal experimentation, physical modeling, and computational modeling approaches. We work primarily with lizards because they inhabit a broad range of habitats, and their feet exhibit both surprising conservation and diversification of shape in these environments. Recent findings show that subtle changes in kinematics and geometry can dramatically alter performance. For example, changing toe spacing on the order of 2-3 particle diameters can result in >25% decrease in force production. Likewise, the presence of toes can disproportionately increase jump performance in a robot. These phenomena appear to be only partially explained by known granular physics principles, suggesting that studying the complex biological form in these contexts offers opportunities to significantly advance our knowledge base in both disparate disciplines.
Tonia Hsieh
Department of Biology
Temple University
Sandy Kawano
Department of Biological Sciences
George Washington University
Integrating ecology, evolution, and biomechanics to model how vertebrates became terrestrial
Abstract
Machine learning helps broaden diversity in organismal biology and biologists
In this talk, I describe my own experiences with incorporating machine learning into the study of snake phenotypic evolution. To increase the taxonomic diversity of my dataset, I trained a neural network to automatically segment snakes from photographs for color pattern analysis. I also describe how explicitly incorporating computational and data science training can potentially broaden participation in organismal biology.
Talia Moore
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Michigan
Kathleen Lois Foster
Department of Biology
Ball State University
Statistical approaches in biomechanics: What can transfer learning tell us about lizard locomotion?
In this talk, I first discuss the traditional, descriptive approach and statistical analyses commonly used in biomechanical research, using kinematic data of the arboreal lizard, Anolis carolinensis, running on a variety of arboreal substrates. Then, I contrast this approach with the more modern, predictive perspective of machine learning and a recent project which employs transfer learning to gain insights into locomotor strategies that are useful across different substrates and Anolis species. This work is in collaboration with the co-organizer of this workshop, Prof. Alessandro Maria Selvitella.
IN-PERSON
Ball State University Campus
In-person gatherings will occur on the beautiful Ball State University campus in Muncie, Indiana and will facilitate live discussions among the in-person participants.
Virtual Rooms
Slack Chat
Gather "MWWEB" Town
The virtual environments of the workshop will foster interactions among in-person and virtual participants. Walking around Gather "MWWEB" Town, you will find Long Talks, Short Talks, and Posters and breakout tables where you can interact and share ideas.
Let us know if you'll be attending!
Sponsors
