Fields-Inria Workshop on Mathematics for
Medicine
January 31-February 2, 2018 • Fields Institute
Organizers: Jean Clairambault and Jean‑Frédéric Gerbeau (Inria), Huaxiong Huang (Fields Institute),
Benoît Perthame (Université Paris 6), and Sivabal Sivaloganathan (University of Waterloo)
Understanding the mathematics
behind how the body works
and what is happening when
diseases take hold, is vital to
modern medical research. The
increasing importance of math
in medicine is a focus area for
the Fields Institute and Institut
national de recherche en
informatique et en automatique
(Inria), and both institutions are
keen to promote collaboration
and increase research in
this interdisciplinary field.
To that end, on January 31
experts from Canada, France,
and other parts of the world
met at the Fields Institute for a
three‑day workshop to discuss
the latest advances in medical
mathematics, which culminated
in a bilateral technical meeting
on February 3 between Fields
and Inria representatives, with
much fruitful discussion.
The talks, focusing on modelling
methods and results for
cardiovascular diseases, cancer
growth, and therapeutics,
were extremely well-received
and raised much interest
among the audience. Many
bilateral projects of scientific
collaboration emerged and
the general atmosphere was
casual, relaxed, and friendly,
with rich scientific exchanges
at coffee breaks and lunches.
One of the most exciting
developments was the
possibility of an Inria branch
associated with the Fields
Institute being founded in
Ontario, gathering Inria and
local teams on a bilateral
and bottom‑up basis,
following the model of Inria@
SiliconValley in California.
This kind of international,
interdisciplinary, and
innovative workshop is at the
heart of the Fields Institute
mission to expand the
application of mathematics
in modern society.
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