Arne Traulsen
For further information please refer to https://theobio.evolbio.mpg.de or, after having read the below stated publications, contact
for project 1: Arne Traulsen <traulsen@evolbio.mpg.de> (co-supervision by a PostDoc is envisioned)
for project 2 the co-supervisors: Michael Sieber <sieber@evolbio.mpg.de> or Amanda de Azevedo-Lopes <azevedo@evolbio.mpg.de>
We are looking for candidates with a solid background in a quantitative field with a clear motivation to work on human biological questions, or a biologist who is sufficiently self-motivated to develop the necessary skillset in theoretical biology.
If you wish to apply for one of the positions, please contact Arne Traulsen by email providing a short motivational statement, names of two referees and a short CV (biosketch). Project 2: Please cc the co-supervisors.
1. Evolutionary game theory/evolutionary dynamics
Supervisors: Arne Traulsen, PostDoc NN
Evolutionary game theory models evolving populations with fitness depending on interactions in the population. The original tools are already 50 years old and are constantly developed further. Evolutionary Game Theory has applications from evolutionary ecology and behavior to epidemiology and economics.
We are interested in developing the underlying theoretical framework further, but also in developing new areas of application of evolutionary game theory and evolutionary dynamics. Interesting questions we have recently worked on include: How can behavioral dynamics integrated into epidemiological model? When can we use the conceptual tools of cooperation research in microbial communities? How can we avoid biased models in evolutionary game theory? How does graph structure affect long term evolution?
References:
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2311584120
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2205424119
2. Modelling metaorganism interactions
Supervisors: Arne Traulsen, Michael Sieber, Amanda de Azevedo-Lopes
All animals and plants are inhabited by diverse communities of microbial organisms which often have fundamental roles in host functioning. From an eco-evolutionary perspective, the host and its associated microbial community (the microbiome) can be viewed as a single unit of selection - the metaorganism. We are interested in the ecological and evolutionary dynamics shaping the metaorganism and employ mathematical models to explore fundamental questions about host-microbiome associations.
We are particularly interested in exploring which kind of intra- and inter-specific interactions occur within the microbiome, for example which microbes compete or cooperate, and in quantifying the strength of those interactions. The project aims at establishing a workflow for quantifying interaction parameters from empirical data based on a method previously developed in the department. This requires having and/or acquiring skills in programming and Bayesian inference to establish the computational workflow and develop the underlying methods further. Depending on the candidate’s interests the project can develop into different directions.
References: