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Call for Papers: SIAP Special Section on the Life Sciences

SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics (SIAP) invites contributions for a special section on the life sciences to highlight the use and development of mathematical models and analysis tools to address life sciences issues that are of true biological, medical, or industrial relevance.

For centuries, the study of biological processes has inspired fundamental mathematical developments, while mathematical analyses have been instrumental in developing a mechanistic understanding of biological observations. This fruitful cross-fertilization has gained momentum over recent decades, thanks in part to extraordinary technological advancements in the biological sciences (e.g., genomics, imaging), as well as the rising availability of large scale computational resources. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified interest in such interdisciplinary partnerships. This special section aims to highlight, to the applied mathematics community and to practitioners in the life sciences, examples of work that showcase recent developments in this area and to foster a clearer vision of this field for newcomers interested in undertaking such research. Specific topics appropriate for the special section are:

1. The development and use of mathematical models to obtain novel insights and predictions about pen questions of significant interest to the life sciences community, including its clinical and industrial components.

2. The development of new mathematical methodology, or the adaptation of existing mathematical methodology applied previously in non-biological settings, with application to such models to extract novel biological insights and predictions.

3. Articles that highlight biological and medical issues for which modeling and mathematical treatment have been productive but new approaches are especially needed, perhaps due to lack of awareness within the theoretical community or due to exciting new experimental developments; note, however, that such articles should not be pure review articles but rather should include some new material, such as preliminary examples of possible theoretical approaches or mathematical illustrations of where current theory runs into difficulties.

4. Mathematical strategies for extracting useful information from biological and clinical data sets, with insights gained about specific biological issues based on the application of these strategies. 

Authors will be required to explain how their work yields novel insights and predictions about biological systems. Papers for the special section should have not just a biological motivation, but also a strong relevance to issues of interest to the biological community. On the other hand, papers that are motivated by a biological problem, but emphasize more abstract or fundamental mathematical results (e.g., existence of solutions, mathematical conditions for a biological property that cannot be directly checked with obtainable biological data) should not be submitted for the special section. The goal is for this special section to attract readership and submissions from a broad community, including not only applied mathematicians, but also theoretical biologists, biomechanical engineers, biomedical engineers, and quantitatively minded experimentalists and clinicians.

Papers submitted to this special section will be peer-reviewed, subject to the review criteria of SIAP. Papers will initially be handled by guest editors. The window for submissions runs from February 15 to June 30, 2022.

Submissions

All interested should submit a manuscript and cover letter in PDF format via SIAP's online submission site. Note the block labeled Special Section (just under the keywords block on your submission screen) and select “Life Sciences, 2022" from the dropdown.

If there are questions regarding submission of your article contact Mitch Chernoff, SIAM Publications Manager, or Brittni Holland, Editorial Associate.

Questions about suitability of content can be directed to Jon Rubin or Simone Bianco.

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