Research

Research

The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Proverb 9:10) 

Research Interests

My research interests include mathematical biology, optimal control, computational biology, mathematical modeling, ordinary and partial differential equations, difference equations, hybrid systems, and machine learning / deep learning, quantum computing, quantum biology, with applications to

• Population Dynamics 

  • 1. 1. Conservation Biology PDF;

       2. Native-Invasive Species competition: Cottonwood-Salt cedar PDF;

       3. Biological Control (pest in agriculture PDF, leaf beetle for salt cedar, SIT PDF and IIT for mosquitoes)

• Disease Modeling and Control 

  • 1. Lyme Disease: Ticks and Hosts PDF;

    2. Rabies in Raccoons: Discrete Model PDF;

    3. Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the hospitals PDF and communities;

    4. Malaria Control using sterile insect technique (SIT),  insecticide-treated net (ITNs); Research Outreach Media report.

    5. West-Nile Virus (optimal impulse control): PDF

    6. Dengue: PDF

    7. General Population: PDF

1) Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering Special Issue: Mathematical modeling and analysis of social and ecological determinants for the dynamics of infectious diseases and public health policies, 2020-21.

2) Mathematical Biology, Differential Equations, and Optimal Control: A special issue in honor of Suzanne Lenhart on her 70th birthday, Numerical Algebra, Control and Optimization, 2024.            EditFlow 

• Natural Resource Management 

  • 1. Fisheries: General Population PDF, Atlantic Cod PDF;

    2. NTFP: non-timber forest products PDF;

    3. Journal of Natural Resource Modeling Special Issue: Dedicated to Lenhart , 2018, PDF

• Systems Biology is the computational and mathematical analysis and modeling of complex biological systems. It is a biology-based interdisciplinary field of study that focuses on complex interactions within biological systems, using a holistic approach to biological research. 

  • 1. Modulation of Macrophage Inflammatory Signaling by Intracellular Cryptococcus neoformans PDF; 

    2. The Innate Immune Response to SARS-COV-2 in the Alveolar Epithelium PDF;

    3. Integrated Mathematical Oncology; 

    4. Optimal Cancer Treatment:
       i) Free boundary tumor control,     PDF        PDF
       ii) Optimal control of cancer double immune-checkpoint blockade.

• Machine Learning / Deep Learning / AI Ethics: applied to infectious diseases and healthcare. 

1. 1.  Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Classification     PDF       GNN: PDF 

   2.   Program Committee: Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) 2024 Fall Symposium on Machine   
      Intelligence for Equitable Global Health (MI4EGH), November 7-9, 2024, Arlington, Virginia.        EasyChair

   3.  Trustworthy AI in Global Health 2023.    PDF                          

   4.  Co-organizer (with H. Qin and J. Kong): A satellite session “Fairness in Machine Intelligence for Global Health (FairMI4GH)” of the 2023 annual meeting of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH), April 3rd, 2023. YouTube

   5.  Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering: (with Phillips, Qu, Zaretzki), Special Issue: Machine Learning, Mathematical and Statistical Modeling for Systems Biology, 2022-23.        
      
      

• MTSU Quantum Science Initiative:  Research + Computing + Education + Workforce Development
  
  

1. 1. Quantum Computing: New Frontiers in Biomedical Research Innovation Lab, December 2-6, 2-24. 

   2. SIAM Quantum Intersections Convening- Integrating Mathematical Scientists into Quantum Research, Tysons, Virginia, October 7-9, 2024. 

   3. QURECABox: Quantum ComputingWorkshop, MTSU Department of Physics and Astronomy. July 22-24, 2024. 

   4. 2024 Middle Tennessee Quantum Consortium, Broadening Participation in Quantum & AI in Middle Tennessee, March 1, 2024.

   5. MSTU AMPLIFY Interdisciplinary Scholarship Program 2023-24
      
      

• One Health: refers to an advanced concept of preventing emerging infectious diseases through interdisciplinary, interdepartmental, and interregional collaboration, emphasizing the interconnection between humans, animals, and ecosystems, thereby safeguarding human health, animal health, and environmental health. Canadian Center for Disease Modeling (CCDM)
  
  

• Using Modeling to Teach Differential Equations:   PDF,      PDF2 
  
  1. Co-organizer (with B. Winkel, Y. Ma, and L. Noble ) SIMIODE ((Systemic Initiative for Modeling Investigations and Opportunities with Differential Equations) EXPO, February 10-13, 2023. 

2. 1-070-FisheryHarvest-ModelingScenario
3. Using M&M to modeling disease spread in Differential Equations class 2024.
    SIMIODE (Systemic Initiative for Modeling Investigations and Opportunities with Differential Equations)

• Women in STEM: ADVANCE grant final report  PDF

Current Work

• • W. Ding, R. Leander, and Z. Shuai. Mathematical Biology, Differential Equations, and Optimal Control: A special issue in honor of Suzanne Lenhart on her 70th birthday, Numerical Algebra, Control and Optimization, 2025.   

  • Topics Leader: AIM Research Community: Ecology Meets Infectious Diseases: Modeling Complex Interactions, 2025-26.

  • Deep Learning Applied to Infectious Disease Modeling and Healthcare, 2025. 

  • Quantum biology, 2025.

Other Work

1. 1. Wenjing Zhang, Wandi Ding, Huaiping Zhu, Universal differential equations for optimal control problems and its application on cancer therapy, submitted 2025.

   2. X. Zhao, Y. Wu, R. Leander, W. Ding and S. Lenhart. Optimal control of treatment in a free boundary problem modeling multilayered tumor growth, submitted 2024.      PDF

   3. D. Wang and W. Ding, Innovative Biomarker Exploration in ASD: Combining Graph Neural Networks and Permutation Testing on fMRI Data,  NeuroImage: Reports 5 (2), 100249, 2025.  PDF    

   4. Y. Wu, X. Zhao, R. Leander and W. Ding. Optimal control of a free boundary tumor growth model, Volume 14, Issue 6: 1534-1564. 2025. Doi: 10.3934/eect.2025043    PDF

   5. D. Wang, W. Ding and X. Yang. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Classification with Three Types of Correlations Based on ABIDE I Data,  Mathematical Foundations of Computing, Vol. 8, No. 1, 113-127,  2025.   PDF

   6. X. Li, L Cai, W Ding, Modeling the transmission dynamics of a two-strain dengue disease with infection age, International Journal of Biomathematics, Vol. 18, No. 04, 2450004, 2025.   PDF

   7. Hong Qin; Jude Kong; Wandi Ding; Ramneek Ahluwalia; Christo El Morr; Zeynep Engin; Jake Okechukwu Effoduh; Rebecca Hwa; Serena Jingchuan Guo; Laleh Seyyed-Kalantari; Sylvia Kiwuwa Muyingo; Candace Makeda Moore; Ravi Parikh; Reva Schwartz; Dongxiao Zhu; Xiaoqian Wang; Yiye Zhang. Towards Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence for Equitable Global Health, submitted, 2023. arXiv:2309.05088

   8. F. Agusto, D. Bond, A. Cohen, W. Ding, R. Leander and A. Royer. Optimal Impulse Control of West-Nile Virus, accepted by AIMS Mathematics, 7(10): 19597–19628, 2022. Doi: 10.3934/math.20221075.    PDF

   9. Liming Cai, Lanjing Bao, Logan Rose, Jeffery Summers & Wandi Ding (2022) Malaria modeling and optimal control using sterile insect technique and insecticide-treated net, Applicable Analysis, 101:5, 1715-1734, DOI: 10.1080/00036811.2021.1999419 PDF
      Wandi Ding. Malaria Modelling, an optimal control problem. Research Outreach, May 17, 2022. 

   10. Guest Editors: Ding, Wandi; Kang, Yun; Mubayi, Anuj. Special Issue: Mathematical modeling and analysis of social and ecological determinants for the dynamics of infectious diseases and public health policies. Math. Biosci. Eng.18 (2021), no. 6, 8535–8537. PDF

   11. Leander RN, Wu Y, Ding W, Nelson DE, Sinkala Z.
       A model of the innate immune response to SARS-CoV-2 in the alveolar epithelium. R. Soc. Open Sci. 8: 210090, 2021.
       https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.210090 PDF

   12. QUBES (Quantitative Undergraduate Biology Education and Synthesis): Agent/Individual-Based Modeling Faculty Mentoring Network 2019.

   13. Wandi Ding, Ryan Florida, Jeffery Summers, Puran Nepal and Ben Burton.
       Experience and Lessons Learned from Using SIMIODE Modeling Scenarios, PRIMUS, 29:6, 571-583, 2019. PDF

   14. Guest Editor: Rachel Leander, Wandi Ding and Rene Salinas.
       Special Issue Dedicated to Suzanne Lenhart, Journal of Natural Resource Modeling, 31:4, 2018.

   15. Wandi Ding and Glenn Webb.
       Optimal Control Applied to Community-acquired Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus in Hospitals, Journal of Biological Dynamics, 11:sup1, 65-78, 2017.  PDF

   16. James B. Hayes, Linda M. Sircy, Lauren E. Heusinkveld, Wandi Ding, Rachel N. Leander, Erin E. McClelland and David E. Nelson.
       Modulation of macrophage inflammatory NF-kB signaling by intracellular Cryptococcus neofor- mans, Journal of Biological Chemistry, 291:30, 15614-15627, 2016. PDF

   17. Orou G. Gaoue, Jiang Jiang, Wandi Ding, Folashade B. Agusto and Suzanne Lenhart.
       Optimal harvesting strategies for timber and non-timber forest products in tropical ecosystems, Theoretical Ecology, 9:3, 287-297, 2016. PDF

   18. Huili Ma, Hui Feng and Wandi Ding.
       Global asymptotic behavior of positive solutions for exponential form difference equations with three parameters, Journal of Applied Analysis and Computation, 6:3, 600-606, 2016. PDF

   19. Huili Ma, Hui Feng, Jiaofeng Wang and Wandi Ding.
       Boundedness and asymptotic behavior of positive solutions for difference equations of exponential form, Journal of Nonlinear Science and Applications, 8:5, 893-899, 2015. 

   20. Wandi Ding.
       Wandi Ding (2015), "1-070-T-FisheryHarvest," https://www.simiode.org/resources/1319. Teacher Version Modeling Scenario PDF  and Student Version  PDF.

   21. Wandi Ding, Suzanne Lenhart and Horst Behncke.
       Discrete Time Optimal Harvesting of Fish Populations with Age Structure, Letters in Biomathematics, 1:2, 193-207, 2014. 

   22. Wandi Ding, Raymond C. Hendon, Brandon Cathey, Evan Lancaster and Robert Germick.
       Discrete Time Optimal Control Applied to Pest Control Problems, Involve, a Journal of Mathematics 7-4 (2014), 479--489.  

   23. Wandi Ding, Volodymyr Hrynkiv and Xiaoyu Mu.
       Optimal Control Applied to Native-Invasive Species Competition via a PDE Model, Electronic Journal of Differential Equations, Vol. 2012, 237:1-18, 2012. 

   24. Wandi Ding and Suzanne Lenhart.
       An Introduction to Optimal Control for Discrete Models with an Application to Disease Modeling. Modeling Paradigms and Analysis of Disease Transmission Models, 109-119, DIMACS Ser. Discrete Math. Theoret. Comput. Sci., 75, Amer. Math. Soc., Providence, RI, 2010. 

   25. W. Ding, Suzanne Lenhart, Heather Finotti, Yuan Lou and Yuquan Ye.
       Optimal Control of the Growth Coefficient on a Steady State Population Model. Nonlinear Anal. Real World Appl. 11, 688-704, 2010. 

   26. Wandi Ding and Suzanne Lenhart.
       Optimal Harvesting of a Spatially Explicit Fishery Model. Natural Resource Modeling, 22:2, 173-211, 2009.
       Poster  at the 2007 World Conference on Natural Resource Modeling.

   27. Wandi Ding, Louis Gross, Keith Langston, Suzanne Lenhart and Leslie A. Real.
       Rabies in Raccoons: Optimal Control for a Discrete Time Model on a Spatial Grid. Journal of Biological Dynamics, 1:4, 379-393, 2007. 

   28. Wandi Ding.
       Optimal Control on Hybrid ODE Systems with Application to a Tick Disease Model. Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering , 4:4, 633-659, 2007. 

   29. Grid Computing Project for Ecological Modeling and Spatial Control, 2006-07 (post-doctoral work)

   30. GitHub

Grants

From the National Science Foundation

1. PI: NSF DGE #2510274: NRT-QISE-AI: Middle Tennessee Interdisciplinary Graduate Research and Training in Quantum Information Science and AI, (Co-PIs: Hanna Terletska, Joshua Phillips, Jing Kong, Abdul-Qayyum Khaliq; Senior Personnel: Donglin Wang and Kritagya Upadhyay), $2,000,000, 2025 --- 2030.  

2. Co-PI: NSF DMS #2234176: Shanks Workshop on Advances in Mathematical and Theoretical Biology, (PI: X. Zhao, co-PIs: M. Horn, W. Ding, P. Hinow, and X. Huo), $27,000, 2023-24.

      3. PI: NSF DMS #1757493: REU Site: Computational Modeling and Simulation in Applied Sciences. (PI: W. Ding, co-PIs:  R. Leander,  
          W.  Robertson, and J. Phillips), $241,470, 2018-2023.
          Summer 2019 Poster           Summer 2021 Poster-1         Summer 2021 Poster-2     Summer 2022 Poster-1   Summer 2022 Poster-2

      4. Co-PI: NSF ADVANCE IT-Catalyst: NSF HRD #1409638:
          A Catalyst to ADVANCE the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic STEM Careers at Middle Tennessee State University (PI: B. Bartel, co-PIs: J. Iriarte-Gross, W. Ding, J. Eller, and K. Petersen),  $195,002, 2014-18. 
    2015 ADVANCE Poster PDF,       2016 ADVANCE Poster PDF,       2017 ADVANCE Brochure PDF,        2017 White Paper PDF,                   2017 ADVANCE Poster PDF

     From MTSU

1. NIA: Non-Instructional Assignment Grant (Sabbatical leave): Fall 2020. 

2. MTSU LT&ITC Faculty Learning Community (FLC): Mid-Career Faculty Development Program, (with D. Raffo, G. Webber, R. Henderson, R. Otter, and T. Brinthaupt), $7,500, 2014.

3. MTSU Instructional Technologies Innovation Grant (ITI) (with Z. Sinkala and R. Leander), $5,892, 2014.

4. MTSU Instructional Evaluation and Development Grant (IED), $750, 2011.
   To design and implement of a pilot program training for undergraduates in biological and mathematical sciences.

5. Faculty Research and Creative Activities (FRCAC), MTSU, August 2009- May 2010, $5,000.
   Optimal Control Applied to Native-Invasive Population Dynamics via a PDE Model.

6. NSF STEP (Stepping Up Undergraduate Research) Summer Reseach, MTSU, June-July 2009, $17,500.
   Mathematical Modeling and Control of Populations: Application in Biological Pest Control.

7. Faculty Research and Creative Activities (FRCAC), MTSU, August 2008- May 2009, $6,300.
   Optimal Harvesting of Fish Populations with Age Structure.

8. MTSU Distinguished Lecture Fund: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, $3,250.
   
   Travel grants:
   
   - SIAM Quantum Intersections Convening- Integrating Mathematical Scientists into Quantum Research,  Tysons, Virginia, October 7-9, 2024.
   - Moffitt Cancer Center Integrated Mathematical Oncology (IMO) Travel Awards, IMO Workshop 9: Tumor Board Evolution, Nov. 3-8,            2019.
   - Society for Mathematical Biology (SMB) grant to support our special session in the AMS Southeastern Spring Sectional Meeting (March     27-29, 2015), $2,000, 2014.
   -  Society of Mathematical Biology (SMB) Travel grant , $750, 2011.
   -  SIAM-NSF Postdoc/Early Career Travel Award , $885, 2010.
   -  AWM-NSF Travel Grants for Women Researchers , $1,488, 2009.

Professional Development (Conference/Presentations/Workshops)

Conferences/Special Sessions Organized

1. AMS Special Session on Dynamics and Management in Disease or Ecological Models (associated with Gibbs Lecture by Suzanne Lenhart), at the 2024 Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Francisco, CA, January 4-5, 2024. (Co-organized with S. Lenhart and C. Edholm)

2. A satellite session “Fairness in Machine Intelligence for Global Health (FairMI4GH)” of the 2023 annual meeting of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH), April 3rd, 2023. (with H. Qin and J. Kong)

3. AMS Spring Eastern Virtual Sectional Meeting Special Session on Modeling, Analysis, and Control of Populations Impacted by Disease and Invasion, April 1-2, 2023. (with R. Leander)

4. Shanks Workshop on Advances in Mathematical and Theoretical, Vanderbilt University, March 17-19, 2023. (with X. Zhao, M. Horn, P. Hinow, and X. Huo)

5. SIMIODE (Systemic Initiative for Modeling Investigations and Opportunities with Differential Equations) EXPO, February 10-13, 2023. (with B. Winkel, Y. Ma, and L. Noble)

6. SCUDEM 2018 (National Student Competition Using Differential Equations Modeling)
   Dr. Ding serves as Faculty Coach and has been training the student team from summer 2017 to spring 2018.

7. American Mathematical Society (AMS) Southeastern Spring Sectional Meeting, Special Session on Recent Trends in Mathematical Biology, Huntsville, AL, March 27-29, 2015. (Co-organize with Z. Sinkala)

8. 2014 SIAM Conference on the Life Sciences, Minisymposium on Mathematical Modeling and Control of Ecological and Epidemiological Problems (MS 66 & 74). Charlotte, NC, August 4-7, 2014. (Co-organized with R. Leander)

9. American Mathematical Society (AMS) Southeastern Spring Sectional Meeting, Special Session on Diversity in Modeling and Optimal Control: A Celebration of Suzanne Lenhart’s 60th Birthday, Knoxville, TN, March 21-23, 2014. (Co-organized with R. Fister)

10. AMS Special Session at the Joint Mathematics Meetings: Control of Biological and Physical Systems, Boston, MA, January 2012. (Co-organized with S. Lenhart and V. Hrynkiv)

Selected Presentations:

1. Topic Leader: A Research Community of the American Institute of Mathematics: Ecology Meets Infectious Disease: Modeling Complex Interactions, 2025 -- 2026.

2. Bridging Math, Biology, and Quantum: A Journey Through Modeling and Innovations. Invited talk to No. 2 High School of Qingdao, China. August 10, 2024.   

3. MTSU AMPLIFY Interdisciplinary Scholarship Program:
   “Mathematical Biology, Optimal Control and Deep Learning for Biological Applications,” April 5, 2024. 

4. Special Session on "Advances in Modeling Mosquito-borne Disease Dynamics and Control Methods" at the 2023 Joint Mathematics Meetings in Boston, MA, January 4-7, 2023.

5. Virginia Tech University Math Biology seminar: Oct. 19, 2022. Virtual.
   https://intranet.math.vt.edu/mathbio/seminar.html

6. Special Session on “Recent Advances in Mathematical Biology” at the AMS Sectional Meeting at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in Chattanooga, TN. October 15-16, 2022.

7. UCR Interdisciplinary Center for Quantitative Modeling in Biology, March 8, 2022. Virtual. 

8. Analysis and Applied Mathematics seminar talk at Kennesaw State Universtiy, November 4, 2021. Virtual.

9. Xinyang Normal University, China: External Experts Colloquium, School of Mathematics and Statistics, October 30, 2021. Virtual.

10. Biomathematics seminar talk at Texas Tech University. Oct. 26, 2021. Virtual.

11. Society for Mathematical Biology (SMB) Annual Conference, Minisymposium: From Primate to Vectors to Humans: Understanding the underlying mechanisms of disease transmission and control. June 13-17, 2021. Virtual. 

12. Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM) meeting, AMS Special Session on Advances in Mathematical Biology, Jan 6-9, 2021, Virtual.
    
    

13. AMS Fall Southeastern Virtual Sectional Meeting, Oct. 10-11, 2020. Special Session on Modern Applied Analysis.

14. NIMBioS Eleventh Undergraduate Research Conferences at the Interface of Biology and Mathematics, Knoxville, TN, November 16-17, 2019. Flyer

15. Integrated Mathematical Oncology (IMO) Workshop 9: Tumor Board Evolution, Tampa, Moffitt Caner Center, FL, November 3-8, 2019. 

16. University of Alabama - Huntsville Department of Mathematical Sciences Colloquium, Nov. 1, 2019.

17. Seventh International Conference on Mathematical Modeling and Analysis of Populations in Biological Systems (ICMA VII), Arizona State University, October 12-14, 2019.

18. The Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences Workshop on Human-Environment Systems: Feedback and Management, Toronto, Canada, March 5-9, 2018.  Flyer

19. AMS Speical Session on Modeling in Differential Equations - High School, Two-year College, Four-Year Institution, Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM), San Diego CA, January 10-13, 2018.

20. International Conferences on Mathematical Modelling and Analysis of Populations in Biological Systems (ICMA VI), University of Arizona, in Tucson, Arizona, October 20-22, 2017.

21. Simon A. Levin Mathematical, Computational and Modeling Sciences Center, Arizona State University, October 19, 2017.

22. The 37th Southeastern-Atlantic Regional Conference on Differential Equations (SEARCDE 2017), Kennesaw State University, October 7-8, 2017. (Chair of the Parallel Session Sunday 1:30-2:50pm )

23. Vanderbilt University, Department of Mathematics, PDE seminar, September 8, 2017.

24. Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery (BIRS) workshop on Women in Control: New Trends in Infinite Dimensions, Banff, Canada, July 16-21, 2017. Link for Video and PPT 

25. International Conference on Reaction-Diffusion Equations and Their Applications to the Life, Social and Physical Sciences, Beijing, China, May 26-29, 2016.

26. CBAS Preview Day, 2015. PDF

27. Ocean University of China (OUC), School of Mathematics Colloquium, June 9, 2015.

28. Qingdao University (QD), China, School of Mathematics Colloquium, June 4, 2015.

29. Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) Conference on the Life Sciences Mini-Symposium, Mathematical Modeling and Control of Ecological and Epidemiological Problems, Charlotte, NC, August 4-7, 2014.

30. University of Tennessee - Chattanooga (UTC), Department of Mathematics Colloquium, June 9, 2014.

31. American Mathematical Society (AMS) Southerneastern Spring Sectional Meeting, Special Session on Diversity in Modeling and Optimal Control: A Celebration of Suzanne Lenhart's 60th Birthday, Knoxville, TN, March 21-23, 2014.

32. Mathematical Biosciences Institute (MBI) workshop 2 on Rapid Evolution and Sustainability, Optimal control of models to sustain populations, Columbus, OH, October 7-11, 2013.

33. American Mathematical Society (AMS) Special session on Mathematical Issues in Ecological and Epidemiological Modeling at the South East Section of the meeting, Louisville, KY, October 5-6, 2013.

34. American Mathematical Society (AMS) Special Session at the Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM): Control of Biological and Physical Systems, Boston, MA, Jan. 2012.

35. The Third International Conference on Mathematical Modeling and Analysis of Populations in Biological Systems (ICMA III), San Antonio, TX, Oct. 2011.

36. 2010 Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) Conference on the Life Sciences, Mini-symposium on Optimal Control Applied to Biological Systems, Pittsburgh, PA, July, 2010.

37. The Second International Conference on Mathematical Modeling and Analysis of Populations in Biological Systems (ICMA II), Huntsville, AL, October, 2009.

38. 2009 Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) Conference on Control and Its Applications, Denver, CO, July, 2009.

39. American Mathematical Society (AMS) regional conference, Huntsville, AL, October, 2008.

40. Special Session on Applied Partial Differential Equations at American Mathematical Society (AMS) Southeastern meeting, Murfreesboro, TN, November, 3-4, 2007.

NSF ADVANCE IT-Catalyst Grant Presentations

• Middle Tennessee State University ADVANCE: Spotlight on Changing the Institutional Culture to Improve the Recruitment, Retention, and Advance of Women STEM Faculty, MTSU Scholars Week, March 30, 2017.

• Campus Climate Survey and Focus Group Results Presentation, November, Murfreesboro, TN, 2015.

• ADVANCEing STEM Careers for Women at MTSU, 35th Annual Conference, Women in Higher Education in Tennessee, October 23, Murfreesboro, TN, 2015.

Selected Workshops/Faculty Development

For Machine Learning / Deep Learning:

1. Coursera Certificate, DeepLearning.AI: Improving Deep Neural Networks: Hyperparameter Tuning, Regularization and Optimization, taught by Andrew Ng, December 18, 2024.

2. Coursera Certificate, DeepLearning.AI: Neural Networks and Deep Learning, taught by Andrew Ng, September 14, 2024.

3. Coursera Certificate: Stanford Online & DeepLearning.AI: Machine Learning, taught by Andrew Ng, August 5, 2024.

4. Coursera Certificate: Stanford Online & DeepLearning.AI: Unsupervised Learning, Recommenders, Reinforcement Learning, taught by Andrew Ng, August 5, 2024.

5. Coursera Certificate, Stanford Online & DeepLearning.AI: Advanced Learning Algorithms, taught by Andrew Ng, June 27, 2024.

6. Coursera Certificate, Stanford Online & DeepLearning.AI: Supervised Machine Learning: Regression and Classification, taught by Andrew Ng, June 4, 2024.

7. AI and Immunology - Exploring Opportunities and Challenges, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) & NIH, May 28–29, 2024.

8. JuliaCon: JuliaCon is the conference dedicated to the Julia programming language. July 27-29, 2022.

9. Certificate: Using Matlab with Python, MathWorks, MATLAB EXPO, May 18, 2022.

10. Online auditing CSCI 4850: Neural Nets at MTSU, Spring 2022.

11. Online auditing CSCI 7850: Deep Learning, at MTSU, Fall 2021.

For Quantum:

1. Quantum Computing: New Frontiers in Biomedical Research Innovation Lab, December 2-6, 2-24.

2. 2024 SIAM Quantum Intersections Convening - Integrating Mathematical Scientists into Quantum Research,  Tysons, Virginia,           October 7-9, 2024.

3. QURECABox: Quantum Computing Workshop, MTSU Department of Physics and Astronomy. July 22-24, 2024.

4. 2024 Middle Tennessee Quantum Consortium, Broadening Participation in Quantum & AI in Middle Tennessee, March 1,              2024. Virtual.
              

For Math Biology:

1. Topics Leader: AIM Research Community: Ecology Meets Infectious Diseases: Modeling Complex Interactions, 2025-26.

2. MTSU LT&ITC Faculty Writing Retreat, Fall 2024.

3. Coursera Certificate: Infectious Disease Modeling in Practice, The Johns Hopkins University Center for Accelerating Modeling Utilization and Synthesis (CAMUS), Summer 2024.

4. MTSU LT&ITC Weekly Writing Groups, Fall 2022.

5. Dale Carnegie Immersion Course, MTSU, August 10-12, 2022

6. Association for Women in Mathematics (AWIS) Chapter Leader Summit, June, 2022, 2024.

7. UCI Center for Complex Biological Systems: Short Course in SystemsBiology - Foundations - Prep Week, May-June, 2022. Virtual. 

8. NSF Convergence Accelerator EXPO 2022. July 27-28, 2022. 

9. MATLAB EXPO 2022, May 17-18, 2022. Virtual. Using Matlab with Python Certificate

10. SMB Math-Epidemiology/Math-Immunology Subgroups Mid-Year Mini Virtual Conference, theme: Epidemiology meets Immunology and Vice Versa - Linking Math Epidemiology to Math Immunology, Feb. 27-28, 2022.

11. 2022 Shanks Workshop on Mathematical Aspects of Fluid Dynamics, February 19-20, 2022

12. SIMIODE EXPO Conference, February 10-13, 2022. Virtual.

13. Dynamics Day 2022, Georgia Tech University. January 7-8, 2022. Virtual.

14. Winter Workshop on Competition Dynamics in Biology, Ohio State University, December 15-17, 2021. Virtual.

15. 17th annual Shenandoah Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics (SUMS) Conference at James Madison University. December 4, 2021. Virtual.

16. Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) Blackwell Tapia Conference 2021, Nov. 19-20, 2021. Virtual.

17. E-BEER: International Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research, November 12-14, 2021. Virtual.

18. Banff International Workshop: Mathematics of the Cell: Integrating Signaling, Transport and Mechanics (21w5154), Oct. 17-22, 2021. Virtual.

19. 5th Workshop on Virus Dynamics, October 4-6, 2021, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Washington State University. Virtual. 

20. LinkedIn Learning: Mathematica 11 Essential Training, finished September 28, 2021

21. 2021 Mathematics-Tianyuan China-Canada Symposium on Modelling, Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, September 15-19, 2021. Virtual. 

22. Society for Mathematical Biology Annual Conference, Minisymposium: From Primate to Vectors to Humans: Understanding the underlying mechanisms of disease transmission and control. June 13-17, 2021. Virtual. 

23. 2021 Virtual Joint Mathematics Meetings, AMS Special Session on Advances in Mathematical Biology, II, January 6-9, 2021.

24. QUBES (Quantitative Undergraduate Biology Education and Synthesis):Agent/Individual-Based Modeling Faculty Mentoring Network 2019.

25. Integrated Mathematical Oncology (IMO) Workshop 9: Tumor Board Evolution, Tampa, Moffitt Cancer Center, FL, November 3-8, 2019.

26. The Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences Workshop on Human-Environment Systems: Feedback and Management, Toronto, Canada, March 5-9, 2018.

27. Grant Writing Enhancement Program at MTSU 2017.

28. Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery (BIRS) workshop on Women in Control: New Trends in Infinite Dimensions, Banff, Canada, July 16-21, 2017.

29. IMA Annual Program Year Workshop: Biological Systems and Networks, November 16-20, Minneapolis MN, 2015. 

30. MAA-PREP Workshop: Systemic Initiative for Modeling Investigation and Opportunities with Differential Equations (SIMIODE), July 19-25, Helena, MT, 2015.

31. Invited Participant: Investigative Workshop on Interface Disease Models, National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), Knoxville, TN, March 11-13, 2014.

32. Invited Speaker: Mathematical Biosciences Institute (MBI) workshop 2 on Rapid Evolution and Sustainability , Optimal control of models to sustain populations, Columbus, OH, October 7-11, 2013. 

33. Invited Participant: “Mid-Career Faculty Development” Faculty Learning Community, MTSU 2013-14.

34. The Importance of Mentoring and Work-Life Satisfaction Workshop, Association of Women in Science (AWIS), MTSU, March 18-20, 2013.

35. Global South Summit, Nashville, TN, November 13-14, 2012

36. XSEDE (Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment) Nashville Regional Workshop, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, May 7-8, 2012

37. 5th Hands-on Workshop on Interrogating Cancer Resistance to Targeted Therapeutics with Systems Biology, The Center for Cancer Systems Biology at Vanderbilt University (CCSB@V), Nashville, TN, August 22-24, 2011

38. Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences (NSF - CBMS ) Lecture Series on Mathematical Epidemiology with Applications, Johnson City, TN, July 25-29, 2011. 

39. Numbers Count Workshop --- NIMBioS, BioQuest and HHMI, 2009

40. 2007 Workshop for Young Researchers in Mathematical Biology (WYRMB)

41. Computational Science Workshop for Natural Resource Managers 2007 

42. Association of Women in Mathematics (AWM) Workshop for Women Graduate Students and Recent PhDs, New Orleans, LA, January, 2007.

43. Computational Science Workshop for Natural Resource Managers 2006 

44. Industrial Mathematical & Statistical Modeling (IMSM) Workshop @ NC State Univ. 2004
    Natalie Almond, Wandi Ding, Xiaochuan Li, Xingtao Liu, Steven Rusnica, Ismael Velzquez-Ramrez, Emily Lada, Fazafumi Ito, Michael Horton, Mellisa Choi.
    "Mobile Sensing of Aerosolized Chemical and Biological Agents." CRSC Technical Report, CRSC-TR04-41, 15-26, December, 2004. 

45. Joint Institute for Computational Science (JICS) workshop on Parallel Programming with MPI, University of Tennessee, May 2004.

46. Mathematical Biological Complexity Short Course, University of Tennessee, July 2003.