5 Day Workshop at BIRS — The Mathematics of Microbial Evolution: Beyond the Limits of Classical Theory

Bacteria, viruses and other microbial populations evolve rapidly, developing resistance to antibiotics, infecting new host species, or emerging as highly pathogenic strains. Mathematical models play a central role in our understanding of evolution, but have largely been developed to describe evolution in humans and animal species. Since microbial evolution differs, often quite profoundly, from evolution in higher organisms, new mathematical approaches must be developed.