News & EventsDepartment Events
Events
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Apr23
EVENT DETAILS
lessTitle: Collective dynamics in B cell affinity maturation
Speaker: Ned Wingreen, Princeton University
Abstract: In the humoral immune response, B cells that produce high-affinity antibodies are generated through a Darwinian evolutionary process called affinity maturation. Affinity maturation, which takes place in germinal centers (GC), is driven by cycles of selection (mediated by T cells), division, and hypermutation of B cells. Recently, it was found that the T cells themselves also exhibit dynamic behavior throughout the course of the GC reaction, undergoing affinity-dependent proliferation. A model suggests that this reciprocal stimulation enforces a robust “homeostatic” regulation of the relative number of B cells and T cells in the GC, leading to a constant ratio of GC lymphocytes. But the model also points to a problem: the high mutation rate of GC B cells can lead to “backsliding” of affinity. The proposed solution – a fitness-dependent mutation rate – has been experimentally verified, and has implications beyond B cell affinity maturation.
Zoom: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/98590741221
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TIME Thursday, April 23, 2026 at 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
LOCATION M416, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Noor Kaur noor.kaur@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)
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Apr30
EVENT DETAILS
lessTitle: A coarse-grained model of the primary visual cortex
Speaker: Kevin K. Lin, University of Arizona
Abstract: Biologically realistic models of cortical circuits are challenging to build and simulate due to the large numbers of neurons, their complex connectivity and interactions, and the many unknown parameters. Reduced, or coarse-grained, models are more tractable, but when carried too far reduced models may become hard to interpret. This talk concerns a coarse-graining strategy inspired by ideas from nonequilibrium statistical mechanics that aims to balance biological realism and computational efficiency. I will show
that our strategy, when applied to the primate primary visual cortex, can faithfully reproduce the response of cortical circuits to external stimuli.Zoom: TBA
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TIME Thursday, April 30, 2026 at 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
LOCATION M416, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Noor Kaur noor.kaur@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)
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May7
EVENT DETAILS
lessTitle: TBA
Speaker: Jon Rubin, University of Pittsburgh
Abstract: TBA
Zoom: TBA
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TIME Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
LOCATION M416, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Noor Kaur noor.kaur@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)
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May13
EVENT DETAILS
lessTitle: Title TBA - Reiss Lecture
Speaker: Melanie Mitchell, Santa Fe Institute
Abstract: TBA
Zoom: TBA
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TIME Wednesday, May 13, 2026 at 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
LOCATION L211, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Anne Umbanhowar anne.umbanhowar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)
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May14
EVENT DETAILS
lessTitle: Title TBA - Reiss Lecture
Speaker: Melanie Mitchell, Santa Fe Institute
Abstract: TBA
Zoom: TBA
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TIME Thursday, May 14, 2026 at 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
CONTACT Anne Umbanhowar anne.umbanhowar@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)
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May21
EVENT DETAILS
lessTitle: TBA
Speaker: Robert Hunt, University of Chicago
Abstract: TBA
Zoom: TBA
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TIME Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
LOCATION M416, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Noor Kaur noor.kaur@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)
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May28
EVENT DETAILS
lessTitle: TBA
Speaker: Dashun Wang, Northwestern University
Abstract: TBA
Zoom: TBA
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SUBSCRIBE esam-seminar FirstName LastName
TIME Thursday, May 28, 2026 at 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
LOCATION M416, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Noor Kaur noor.kaur@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)
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Jun4
EVENT DETAILS
lessTitle: TBA
Speaker: Neil Ribe, Université Paris-Saclay
Abstract: TBA
Zoom: TBA
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TIME Thursday, June 4, 2026 at 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
LOCATION M416, Technological Institute map it
CONTACT Noor Kaur noor.kaur@northwestern.edu EMAIL
CALENDAR McCormick-Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics (ESAM)