Bridging Stochastic Physical Theories with Biological Experiments

The Stochastic Physics in Biology GRC is a premier, international scientific conference focused on advancing the frontiers of science through the presentation of cutting-edge and unpublished research, prioritizing time for discussion after each talk and fostering informal interactions among scientists of all career stages. The conference program includes a diverse range of speakers and discussion leaders from institutions and organizations worldwide, concentrating on the latest developments in the field. The conference is five days long and held in a remote location to increase the sense of camaraderie and create scientific communities, with lasting collaborations and friendships. In addition to premier talks, the conference has designated time for poster sessions from individuals of all career stages, and afternoon free time and communal meals allow for informal networking opportunities with leaders in the field.

The 2023 GRC is shaping up to be one of the most exciting and important meetings in the discipline, addressing emerging challenges in understanding complex behaviors of biological systems using principles and theories in stochastic physics. We expect to bring together an outstanding and diverse group of physicists, mathematicians, engineers and biologists at the forefront of research and will make every attempt to include younger scientists and students as well.

At the most fundamental level, physical and chemical laws govern the operations of a living cell. For example, the energetics of a biochemical reaction obey the law of thermodynamics, and the kinetics the law of mass action. At the functional level, however, when, where and at what rate a biomolecule executes its function through its binding to a partner or enzymatic catalysis is stochastic, and can only be described in probabilistic instead of deterministic terms. At this level, the integration between experiments and theories becomes extremely important, because new theories need to be developed to explain stochastic experimental observations and guide further experimental explorations, and experiments need to be conducted to test theoretical predications and establish biological significance.