Arne Traulsen

January 06, 2025

For further information please refer to https://theobio.evolbio.mpg.de or, after having read the recommended literature, contact
for project 1: Arne Traulsen <traulsen@evolbio.mpg.de> (co-supervision by a PostDoc is envisioned)
for project 2 the co-supervisor: Yuriy Pichugin <pichugin@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.

Please submit your application documents via the online portal.

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 and understanding 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? Can we use the conceptual tools of evolutionary games theory in microbial communities? How can we avoid biased models in evolutionary game theory? The precise questions will be adjusted to the interest of the candidate.

References:

[1] Traulsen, Levin & Saad-Roy, Individual costs and societal benefits of interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic, PNAS 2023

[2] Saad-Roy & Traulsen, Dynamics in a behavioral–epidemiological model for individual adherence to a nonpharmaceutical intervention, PNAS 2023

[3] Tarnita & Traulsen, Reconciling ecology and evolutionary game theory or ‘When not to think cooperation’, biorxiv 2023

2. Modelling the origins of organismic complexity at the onset of multicellular life

Supervisors: Arne Traulsen, Yuriy Pichugin

Transitions from unicellular existence to multicellular life resulted in the emergence of astonishing biological complexity in terms of cell types, body plans, and life cycles.
Adaptations acquired at these transitions primed the current multicellular lineages to take the shape they have now: animals, plants, fungi, plus about 20 other known groups.
Unfortunately, in the majority of lineages, these early life forms are lost to history.
In this project, we suggest to theoretically investigate the origins of complexity at the onset of multicellularity.
The envisioned basis of the project is the theoretical framework of the evolution of clonal reproduction modes [1, 2, 3], which is to be extended to incorporate cell diversification, applying the extended framework to probe the possible paths towards complex multicellularity.
Given the broad scope of the studied phenomenon, we expect this project to resonate with candidates driven by a basic curiosity about fundamental aspects of history of life.

The execution of this theoretical project will involve a combination of analytical calculations, numerical modelling, and data analysis, so solid knowledge in at least one of these categories is expected.

References:
[1] Y Pichugin, J Peña, PB Rainey & A Traulsen. Fragmentation modes and the evolution of life cycles, PLoS Computational Biology, 2017.
[2] Y Pichugin & A Traulsen. The possible modes of microbial reproduction are fundamentally restricted by distribution of mass between parent and offspring, PNAS, 2022.
[3] Y Gao, A Traulsen & Y Pichugin. Interacting cells driving the evolution of multicellular life cycles, PLoS Computational Biology, 2019.