Stress Response Modeling Research School

Courses will cover topics such as complexity science, mathematical modelling in evolution, ecology and plant biology, along with transferable skills, including interdisciplinary communication and collaboration. The research school launched in 2025, with several PhD positions within the school funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.

Once the research school has been established, a Master’s program in models of life is planned for development from 2029 onwards, further funding pending. Designed for students in the computational and life sciences, the program will focus on universal principles and phenomena instead of specific organisms or systems. It will provide both knowledge and open questions at the research frontier of adaptive mechanisms in living systems, as well as practical experiences in mathematical and computational modeling such as network-inference methods and dynamical system modeling techniques. The Master’s program will prepare students for our research school.

Curriculum

Admission

If you are interested in participating, please email Ludvig Lizana (research school coordinator and Gabrielle Beans (IceLab research coordinator). Write about why you wish to join and indicate which courses you plan to take.

The School suggests selecting at least 3 courses and/or a minimum of 25 ECTS, of which IceLab Camp and the Stress Response and Mechanisms course are required.  After you completed your doctoral studies and successful completion of the required courses and credits listed above we will issue a certificate to you.

Course catalog

Stress Response and Mechanisms, 7.5 ECTS

May 11-19, 2026

The course provides a theoretical and methodological foundation in stress-response modelling, focusing on how feedbacks, network inference, and dynamical systems can be used to analyse empirical data and predict system stability and resilience across biological and environmental systems. It combines lectures, coding labs and collaborative multidisciplinary projects.

Syllabus
Contact: Ludvig Lizana, Dpt. of Physics

Control Theory, 7.5 ECTS

March-May 2026

The course provides a theoretical and methodological foundation in control theory, with emphasis on how feedback, stability, and optimal decision-making can be used to analyze and design dynamical models, particularly in biological systems.

Syllabus
Contact: Eric Libby, Dept. of Mathematics

Fundamental mathematical models in evolution, 7.5 ECTS

Date: Contact the teacher

Evolutionary biology is home to a broad diversity of mathematical models and techniques. For those new to modeling biological systems it can be challenging to identify what models are available and which are appropriate to particular scenarios. The purpose of this course is to provide a broad survey of well-known mathematical models in evolution, i.e. the “usual suspects”. Emphasis is placed on understanding the basic formulation of each model, its underlying assumptions, its key results, and possible extensions.

Syllabus
Contact: Eric Libby, Dept. of Mathematics

Ecological dynamics, 7.5 ECTS

January, 2027

The course focuses on mathematical modelling as a tool for the study of ecological dynamics, i.e., the interplay between organisms and their environment. You will learn how biological and environmental information can be translated into meaningful mathematical models, how the behavior of mathematical models can be explored, analysed and interpreted, and how models can be used to derive expectations and hypotheses about the real world.

Syllabus
Contact: Sebastian Diehl, Dept. of EMG

Nonlinear dynamics and chaos, 7.5 ECTS

Date: Contact the teacher

Nonlinear dynamics is an area of mathematics with a wealth of applications to biology and physics. This course delves into the behavior of nonlinear systems, which often exhibit unpredictable and complex behavior. Unlike linear systems, whose outputs are directly proportional to their inputs, nonlinear systems can demonstrate a wide variety of phenomena, including sensitivity to initial conditions, bifurcations, and strange attractors. This course will explore the mathematical underpinnings of these phenomena, using both analytical and computational techniques. The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to the topic as we work through a well-known textbook (a classic) on the subject. By the end of this course, students should be equipped to analyze and predict the behavior of nonlinear systems. Below are a sample of the topics the course covers.

Syllabus
Contact: Eric Libby, Dept. of Mathematics

 Modelling the Dynamics of Living Systems, 7.5 ECTS

September-October, 2027
Syllabus: TBD
Contact: Ludvig Lizana, Dpt. of Physics

Mathematical Ecology, 7.5 ECTS

Date: Contact the teacher
Syllabus: TBD
Contact: Åke Brännström, Dpt. of Mathematics

Icelab Camp, 2 ECTS

September, 2026
Information
Contact: Gabrielle Beans Picón, IceLab, Martin Rosvall, Dpt. of Physics and IceLab