Bacteria are the most abundant and varied forms of life on earth. They are ubiquitous in environmental, industrial and clinical settings. There has been an explosion in our understanding of bacterial behavior in the recent decades beginning with new experimental techniques such as the confocal microscope and gene sequencing and new paradigms such as the biofilm ‘life-style’. Understanding the ecology, kinetics, genetic and phenotypic regula- tory pathways and downstream effects is key in developing new treatments for increasingly drug-resistant and tolerant pathogenic bacteria and optimizing helpful bacterial ecology in areas such as gut microbiomes and water treatment plants. Mathematical modeling and analysis has been very successful in incorporating the abundance of new data, testing and proposing specific hypotheses while also playing a substantial role in expanding the mathematical theory.

The objective of this sub-group is the development of theory, typically in conjunction with experimental/clinical data, to continue the rapid development of microbiology. We aim to include researchers from both lab and theory sides and help develop and mentor graduate students and post-docs on playing successful roles in joining mathematics with microbiology.