Román Zapién-Campos
@romanzapien.bsky.social
PostDoc University College London 📚 | ecology and evolution of microbes 🦠 | 🇲🇽🇬🇧 | romanzapien.github.io
Pinned
Este Julio tuve el privilegio de organizar el club "Enzymath: Entendiendo a las Enzimas entre Genes y Ecuaciones" 🧪👨🏻🔬🧑🏼🏫 para Clubes de Ciencia México 🇲🇽. Fue una bonita experiencia de la que me llevo muchas alegrías y que espero repetir pronto. (1/2)
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
The cells of your body follow simple rules and play off one another to form a complete organism. The researcher Alexander Mordvintsev has developed “neural cellular automata,” building blocks that can self-assemble into any form. @georgemusser.com reports: www.quantamagazine.org/self-assembl...
Self-Assembly Gets Automated in Reverse of ‘Game of Life’ | Quanta Magazine
In cellular automata, simple rules create elaborate structures. Now researchers can start with the structures and reverse-engineer the rules.
www.quantamagazine.org
September 10, 2025 at 2:05 PM
The cells of your body follow simple rules and play off one another to form a complete organism. The researcher Alexander Mordvintsev has developed “neural cellular automata,” building blocks that can self-assemble into any form. @georgemusser.com reports: www.quantamagazine.org/self-assembl...
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
“Overall, the message from this survey is positive; evolutionary biologists are readily employable outside of academia, generally well-prepared for those jobs, and report high levels of satisfaction” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Leaving Academia: Insights from Evolutionary Biologists on Their Career Transitions and Job Satisfaction
Many who have obtained PhDs in evolutionary biology will ultimately pursue careers that fall outside a narrow definition of an academic career. At the same time, PhD students and supervisors of PhD st...
www.biorxiv.org
September 10, 2025 at 11:19 AM
“Overall, the message from this survey is positive; evolutionary biologists are readily employable outside of academia, generally well-prepared for those jobs, and report high levels of satisfaction” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
Willing to join us @pasteur.fr for a PhD for a project on how interactions between mobile genetic elements shape bacterial adaptation? Subject to be tailored to candidates with keen interest in evolution, genomics, computational biology, microbiology. Check www.pasteur.fr/en/education...
September 8, 2025 at 8:56 AM
Willing to join us @pasteur.fr for a PhD for a project on how interactions between mobile genetic elements shape bacterial adaptation? Subject to be tailored to candidates with keen interest in evolution, genomics, computational biology, microbiology. Check www.pasteur.fr/en/education...
Este Julio tuve el privilegio de organizar el club "Enzymath: Entendiendo a las Enzimas entre Genes y Ecuaciones" 🧪👨🏻🔬🧑🏼🏫 para Clubes de Ciencia México 🇲🇽. Fue una bonita experiencia de la que me llevo muchas alegrías y que espero repetir pronto. (1/2)
August 13, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Este Julio tuve el privilegio de organizar el club "Enzymath: Entendiendo a las Enzimas entre Genes y Ecuaciones" 🧪👨🏻🔬🧑🏼🏫 para Clubes de Ciencia México 🇲🇽. Fue una bonita experiencia de la que me llevo muchas alegrías y que espero repetir pronto. (1/2)
Fighting coordinated publication fraud is like ‘emptying an overflowing bathtub with a spoon,’ study coauthor says retractionwatch.com/2025/08/04/f...
Fighting coordinated publication fraud is like ‘emptying an overflowing bathtub with a spoon,’ study coauthor says
The observed and forecasted growth rate of paper mill papers outpaces corrective measures, a new study finds. R. Richardson et al./PNAS 2025 Systematic research fraud has outpaced corrective measur…
retractionwatch.com
August 12, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Fighting coordinated publication fraud is like ‘emptying an overflowing bathtub with a spoon,’ study coauthor says retractionwatch.com/2025/08/04/f...
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
📢 We're seeking a postdoc to work on a project funded by HFSP @hfspo.bsky.social at the intersection of bacterial physiology, ecology and evolution. You can find more details about the project, the position, and how to apply here www.dalbellolab.com/hfsp-project! #bacteria #ecosky #MevoSky #microSky
HFSP project — dal bello lab
www.dalbellolab.com
July 23, 2025 at 6:41 PM
📢 We're seeking a postdoc to work on a project funded by HFSP @hfspo.bsky.social at the intersection of bacterial physiology, ecology and evolution. You can find more details about the project, the position, and how to apply here www.dalbellolab.com/hfsp-project! #bacteria #ecosky #MevoSky #microSky
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
Behold one of the mightiest tools in mathematics: the camel principle.
I am dead serious. Deep down, this tiny rule is the cog in many methods. Ones that you use every day.
Here is what it is, how it works, and why it is essential.
I am dead serious. Deep down, this tiny rule is the cog in many methods. Ones that you use every day.
Here is what it is, how it works, and why it is essential.
July 3, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Behold one of the mightiest tools in mathematics: the camel principle.
I am dead serious. Deep down, this tiny rule is the cog in many methods. Ones that you use every day.
Here is what it is, how it works, and why it is essential.
I am dead serious. Deep down, this tiny rule is the cog in many methods. Ones that you use every day.
Here is what it is, how it works, and why it is essential.
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
A NASA Astronaut on ISS caught this sprite over Mexico and the U.S. this morning.
July 4, 2025 at 6:50 AM
A NASA Astronaut on ISS caught this sprite over Mexico and the U.S. this morning.
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
Many such cases - be on guard against DoPRA (science is complex, but let's not fool ourselves that pre-pub peer review functions in these situations; need a year of post-pub to read these things)
ah here's where I saw it! x.com/lpachter/sta...
June 23, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Many such cases - be on guard against DoPRA (science is complex, but let's not fool ourselves that pre-pub peer review functions in these situations; need a year of post-pub to read these things)
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
Interested (or know anyone interested!) in pursuing a PhD in applied mathematics? Come and join us at Melbourne! A/Prof Doug Brumley and I are advertising a maths + biology project looking at adaptation of bacteria. Find out more 👉 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Mathematical models of biological adaptation in fluctuating environments at University of Melbourne on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Mathematical models of biological adaptation in fluctuating environments at University of Melbourne, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
June 3, 2025 at 3:10 AM
Interested (or know anyone interested!) in pursuing a PhD in applied mathematics? Come and join us at Melbourne! A/Prof Doug Brumley and I are advertising a maths + biology project looking at adaptation of bacteria. Find out more 👉 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
Here is a recent #BulletinMathBio paper by Arianna Ceccarelli, @apbrowning.bsky.social, and @profruthbaker.bsky.social Approximate Solutions of a General Stochastic Velocity-Jump Model Subject to Discrete-Time Noisy Observations.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
🧪
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
🧪
Approximate Solutions of a General Stochastic Velocity-Jump Model Subject to Discrete-Time Noisy Observations - Bulletin of Mathematical Biology
Advances in experimental techniques allow the collection of high-resolution spatio-temporal data that track individual motile entities over time. These tracking data motivate the use of mathematical m...
link.springer.com
April 25, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Here is a recent #BulletinMathBio paper by Arianna Ceccarelli, @apbrowning.bsky.social, and @profruthbaker.bsky.social Approximate Solutions of a General Stochastic Velocity-Jump Model Subject to Discrete-Time Noisy Observations.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
🧪
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
🧪
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
1/n 🧵 Excited to share our new paper! We developed a framework to reveal hidden simplicity in how organisms adapt to different environments, particularly focusing on antibiotic resistance evolution. #EvolutionaryBiology #MachineLearning
Learning the Shape of Evolutionary Landscapes: Geometric Deep Learning Reveals Hidden Structure in Phenotype-to-Fitness Maps https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.07.652616v1
May 15, 2025 at 2:33 PM
1/n 🧵 Excited to share our new paper! We developed a framework to reveal hidden simplicity in how organisms adapt to different environments, particularly focusing on antibiotic resistance evolution. #EvolutionaryBiology #MachineLearning
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
Neat looking paper: "Are Statistical Methods Obsolete in the Era of Deep Learning?" The answer seems to be "no," at least in the case where there's a mathematical structure to the model.
arxiv.org/abs/2505.21723
arxiv.org/abs/2505.21723
May 29, 2025 at 2:04 AM
Neat looking paper: "Are Statistical Methods Obsolete in the Era of Deep Learning?" The answer seems to be "no," at least in the case where there's a mathematical structure to the model.
arxiv.org/abs/2505.21723
arxiv.org/abs/2505.21723
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
7 PhD positions in Translational Evolutionary Research available @uni-kiel.de
Application deadline is March 27, 2025
Please spread the word!
www.kec.uni-kiel.de/news_events/...
Application deadline is March 27, 2025
Please spread the word!
www.kec.uni-kiel.de/news_events/...
January 31, 2025 at 1:58 PM
7 PhD positions in Translational Evolutionary Research available @uni-kiel.de
Application deadline is March 27, 2025
Please spread the word!
www.kec.uni-kiel.de/news_events/...
Application deadline is March 27, 2025
Please spread the word!
www.kec.uni-kiel.de/news_events/...
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
Partners in both life and research, the physicists Roger Guimerà and Marta Sales-Pardo recently developed a “machine scientist” algorithm that is proving to be a powerful tool for scientific discovery. (From the archive) buff.ly/0dgSvHG
March 22, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Partners in both life and research, the physicists Roger Guimerà and Marta Sales-Pardo recently developed a “machine scientist” algorithm that is proving to be a powerful tool for scientific discovery. (From the archive) buff.ly/0dgSvHG
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
Interested in a starting PI position at University College London to work on Genetics, Evolution or the Environment? My department has opened the call for expressions of interest for sponsorship of independent fellowship applications.
www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
UCL – University College London
UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
www.ucl.ac.uk
March 21, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Interested in a starting PI position at University College London to work on Genetics, Evolution or the Environment? My department has opened the call for expressions of interest for sponsorship of independent fellowship applications.
www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
New 🗒️led by Alex Pigot - Macroecological rules predict how biomass scales with species richness in nature -Standing biomass increases with richness when large-bodied spp are numerically rare but independent when spp size & abundance are uncoupled. @ucl.ac.uk - Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Macroecological rules predict how biomass scales with species richness in nature
Despite advances in theory and experiments, how biodiversity influences the structure and functioning of natural ecosystems remains debated. By applying new theory to data on 84,695 plant, animal, and...
www.science.org
March 21, 2025 at 9:26 AM
New 🗒️led by Alex Pigot - Macroecological rules predict how biomass scales with species richness in nature -Standing biomass increases with richness when large-bodied spp are numerically rare but independent when spp size & abundance are uncoupled. @ucl.ac.uk - Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
Let's try this again... 7 is the LEAST "random" number.
When we asked Britons to think of a number from 1-10, 33% chose 7 - this isn't the first time this phenomenon has been observed
How Brits respond...
1: 2%
2: 4%
3: 7%
4: 9%
5: 8%
6: 14%
7: 33%
8: 14%
9: 6%
10: 4%
yougov.co.uk/society/arti...
When we asked Britons to think of a number from 1-10, 33% chose 7 - this isn't the first time this phenomenon has been observed
How Brits respond...
1: 2%
2: 4%
3: 7%
4: 9%
5: 8%
6: 14%
7: 33%
8: 14%
9: 6%
10: 4%
yougov.co.uk/society/arti...
March 21, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Let's try this again... 7 is the LEAST "random" number.
When we asked Britons to think of a number from 1-10, 33% chose 7 - this isn't the first time this phenomenon has been observed
How Brits respond...
1: 2%
2: 4%
3: 7%
4: 9%
5: 8%
6: 14%
7: 33%
8: 14%
9: 6%
10: 4%
yougov.co.uk/society/arti...
When we asked Britons to think of a number from 1-10, 33% chose 7 - this isn't the first time this phenomenon has been observed
How Brits respond...
1: 2%
2: 4%
3: 7%
4: 9%
5: 8%
6: 14%
7: 33%
8: 14%
9: 6%
10: 4%
yougov.co.uk/society/arti...
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
We offer 2 PhD Positions in Evolutionary Biology!
1️⃣ Evolutionary Developmental Biology – Craniofacial evolution. (March 31, 2025)
2️⃣ Evolution of Polygenic Traits – Genetic adaptation in Drosophila. (April 30, 2025)
More here: www.evolbio.mpg.de/1639156/Job_...
#PhD #EvoDevo #Genetics
1️⃣ Evolutionary Developmental Biology – Craniofacial evolution. (March 31, 2025)
2️⃣ Evolution of Polygenic Traits – Genetic adaptation in Drosophila. (April 30, 2025)
More here: www.evolbio.mpg.de/1639156/Job_...
#PhD #EvoDevo #Genetics
Current job offers
www.evolbio.mpg.de
March 19, 2025 at 7:20 AM
We offer 2 PhD Positions in Evolutionary Biology!
1️⃣ Evolutionary Developmental Biology – Craniofacial evolution. (March 31, 2025)
2️⃣ Evolution of Polygenic Traits – Genetic adaptation in Drosophila. (April 30, 2025)
More here: www.evolbio.mpg.de/1639156/Job_...
#PhD #EvoDevo #Genetics
1️⃣ Evolutionary Developmental Biology – Craniofacial evolution. (March 31, 2025)
2️⃣ Evolution of Polygenic Traits – Genetic adaptation in Drosophila. (April 30, 2025)
More here: www.evolbio.mpg.de/1639156/Job_...
#PhD #EvoDevo #Genetics
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
Lower survival rate among trainees in labs with highly productive mentors raises important concerns about what we value in academia. Many interesting things to stew over with this paper!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Academic mentees thrive in big groups, but survive in small groups - Nature Human Behaviour
Using longitudinal genealogical data on mentor–mentee relations and their publications, the authors find that mentees trained in larger groups tend to exhibit superior academic performance compared wi...
www.nature.com
March 18, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Lower survival rate among trainees in labs with highly productive mentors raises important concerns about what we value in academia. Many interesting things to stew over with this paper!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I have been preparing a lecture on Parameter Inference for undergrad students 📊. The experience has been particularly fulfilling because I did not learned from a textbook 📖 but by doing 👨🏻💻. At the end, apart from teaching others, structuring knowledge in a lecture is a newly discovered joy for me 😄 🙌
March 18, 2025 at 1:34 AM
I have been preparing a lecture on Parameter Inference for undergrad students 📊. The experience has been particularly fulfilling because I did not learned from a textbook 📖 but by doing 👨🏻💻. At the end, apart from teaching others, structuring knowledge in a lecture is a newly discovered joy for me 😄 🙌
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
📆Join us next Tuesday for our online seminar: Hal Caswell (Woods Hole) will present on:
⭐The formal demography of kinship: Demographic stochasticity in the kinship network⭐
Free for all to join!
Zoom Link: iite.info/seminar/
Global Times: www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/f...
NB Euro time shift!
⭐The formal demography of kinship: Demographic stochasticity in the kinship network⭐
Free for all to join!
Zoom Link: iite.info/seminar/
Global Times: www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/f...
NB Euro time shift!
March 13, 2025 at 10:27 AM
📆Join us next Tuesday for our online seminar: Hal Caswell (Woods Hole) will present on:
⭐The formal demography of kinship: Demographic stochasticity in the kinship network⭐
Free for all to join!
Zoom Link: iite.info/seminar/
Global Times: www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/f...
NB Euro time shift!
⭐The formal demography of kinship: Demographic stochasticity in the kinship network⭐
Free for all to join!
Zoom Link: iite.info/seminar/
Global Times: www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/f...
NB Euro time shift!
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
I’m thrilled to share my first ever publication, now published in PNAS! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
With mentorship from the amazing @ksxue.bsky.social, I looked at how the outcomes of species introductions to microbial communities are influenced by the number of introduced microbes.
With mentorship from the amazing @ksxue.bsky.social, I looked at how the outcomes of species introductions to microbial communities are influenced by the number of introduced microbes.
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
March 11, 2025 at 1:22 PM
I’m thrilled to share my first ever publication, now published in PNAS! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
With mentorship from the amazing @ksxue.bsky.social, I looked at how the outcomes of species introductions to microbial communities are influenced by the number of introduced microbes.
With mentorship from the amazing @ksxue.bsky.social, I looked at how the outcomes of species introductions to microbial communities are influenced by the number of introduced microbes.
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
"...applications of model discovery in biology are among the most exciting, precipitated by the astounding quantities of biological data and the extent to which we do not know the structure of most biological networks; there is a lot to learn." #SingleCell #MLsky
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
Data-driven model discovery and model selection for noisy biological systems
Biological systems exhibit complex dynamics that differential equations can often adeptly represent. Ordinary differential equation models are widespread; until recently their construction has require...
journals.plos.org
January 22, 2025 at 12:00 AM
"...applications of model discovery in biology are among the most exciting, precipitated by the astounding quantities of biological data and the extent to which we do not know the structure of most biological networks; there is a lot to learn." #SingleCell #MLsky
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
Reposted by Román Zapién-Campos
I have a bunch of things I have to get done, so naturally I decided to procrastinate by making an alignment chart of mathematical models
December 19, 2023 at 1:03 AM
I have a bunch of things I have to get done, so naturally I decided to procrastinate by making an alignment chart of mathematical models