Presenters
Prof. Faraimunashe Chirove
Associate professor - University of Johannesburg
Prof Faraimunashe Chirove is a NRF C2 rated (South Africa) scientist and, holder of a Bachelor of science honors in Mathematics (2003) and Master of Science in mathematics (2005) from University of Zimbabwe and a PhD (2011) in Mathematics (Mathematical Biology) from University of Botswana. He is currently employed as an associate professor at University of Johannesburg. His broad research objective is ‘from omics to population dynamics’, an objective that seeks to understand, interpret, explain, and account for the impact of infection across different hierarchical levels within and without the human body. Currently he is largely doing most of his research at cellular level and population dynamics predicting the impact of the cellular infection on the population dynamics and vice versa on human infectious diseases. He has so far published over 32 publications in accredited journals through collaborations with researchers all over the world. His research interests have expanded into mathematical ecology, data-based modelling, agent-based modelling, applications into zoonotic diseases, stochastic modelling, multi-scale modelling, antimicrobial resistance in agricultural settings and, systems mathematical biology. He is also focusing on multi-and interdisciplinary research as to make his modelling skills manifest into realistic impact on public health and animal
Prof. Dr. Anna Matuszyńska
Computational Life Science
Department of Biology
RWTH Aachen University
Prof. Anna is a highly skilled mathematician who holds a second diploma in pharmacy. Her expertise lies in the development of dynamic models for biological processes. She completed her mathematics degree at Gdansk University of Technology in 2011 and gained valuable experience as a cost allocation specialist in a liability portfolio company prior to pursuing further education. In 2016, Prof. Anna obtained her PhD in computational biology from Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf. Her doctoral research focused on computational models pertaining to the light acclimation of photosynthetic organisms.
Since November 2021, Prof. Anna has been serving as a professor at RWTH Aachen University, where she leads a computational life science lab. Her research team utilizes a variety of computational techniques to explore diverse areas, including in silico investigations of photosynthesis (ranging from plants to algae and cyanobacteria), carbon metabolism, cell bioenergetics, and organism interactions. Additionally, Prof. Anna actively engages in public dissemination of her work and participates in outreach activities. She is a passionate advocate for open science, promoting transparency and accessibility in research. Alongside her professional endeavors, Prof. Anna cherishes her role as a mother to two remarkable children.
Mr. Marvin Aalst
Software Architect and Computational Biologist
Marvin is a software architect and computational biologist working on building scientific software and quantitative models based on differential equations. He is currently working on his PhD in Biology at Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf. Marvin recreationally develops web applications. In addition, he has national and international teaching experience, having taught introductory courses in mathematical modeling, computation and systems biology. He has advanced skills in Python, TypeScript & Rust and intermediate skills in R, Julia, Swift, Kotlin and C/C++.
Mr. Tobias Pfennig
Phd Student
Tobias Pfennig is a second-year PhD student in the lab of Anna Matuszyńska, where he investigates photosynthetic organisms and their symbioses through mathematical modelling. He studied quantitative biology at the German University of Cologne and HHU Duesseldorf. There, he became highly interested in data analysis and modelling. His affinity for plant biology also led him to enter the Excellence Cluster on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS). Followingly, he joined the Matuszyńska lab at the RWTH Aachen for his master’s thesis on modelling photosynthetic bacteria, leading up to his current doctoral studies. He enjoys solving biological problems by computational methods and communicating science to next-generation scientists and the public.
Dr. Otho Mantegazza
research scientist and data analyst
Otho is a research scientist and data analyst. Holding a PhD in plant molecular genetics from La Statale of Milan, he is passionate about how we can use data to tell and communicate more about the world and what surrounds us. He works at the interface of research for fair, sustainable development, data analysis and information design. Besides research, he collaborates with international institutions, teaching data analysis and data visualization with free and open source tools.