BioSS Rob Kempton Lecture & Annual General Meeting 2024

25 November, 2024
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Christina Cobbold is standing on a stage with a slide displayed behind her showing an infographic about climate change

This week we met in Edinburgh for our 2024 Rob Kempton Lecture and Annual General Meeting. Prof. Christina Cobbold, Professor of Mathematical Biology at the University of Glasgow, delivered the Rob Kempton Lecture on “The role of individuals and their traits in determining the impacts of environmental change: from blowflies to mosquitoes.” Christina presented a mathematical framework for capturing complex species-environment interactions to establish the role of phenotypic plasticity in mitigating the effects of climate change. 

Our own experts in Process and Systems Modelling presented a selection of fascinating talks on their recent work including: “Variety is the Spice of Death: vector diversity and disease transmission"  by Katharine Preedy, “BICI: General purpose software for inference and simulation using compartmental models” by Chris Pooley and “GI-NemaTracker - A farm system-level model of gastrointestinal parasite control strategies in sheep"  by Dave Ewing. Our Principal Researcher in the area, Helen Kettle, closed the session with a talk on her work involving mathematical modelling of agricultural systems. 

These public talks combined with a poster reception were a great opportunity to showcase the impactful work that BioSS does. In addition, a selection of further science talks and networking opportunities made these two days a great chance for all of us at BioSS to get together, share knowledge, and celebrate the successes of the year!