Inspired by the Research Collaboration Workshop for Women in Mathematical Biology, this volume contains research and review articles that cover topics ranging from models of animal movement to the flow of blood cells in the embryonic heart. Hosted by the National Institute for Mathematics and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), the workshop brought together women working in biology and mathematics to form four research groups that encouraged multidisciplinary collaboration and lifetime connections in the STEM field. This volume introduces many of the topics from the workshop, including the aerodynamics of spider ballooning; sleep, circadian rhythms, and pain; blood flow regulation in the kidney; and the effects of antimicrobial therapy on gut microbiota and microbiota and Clostridium difficile. Perfect for students and researchers in mathematics and biology, the papers included in this volume offer an introductory glimpse at recent research in mathematical biology. 

Anita Layton is the Robert R. and Katherine B. Penn Associate Professor of Mathematics at Duke University. She is the author, along with Aurelie Edwards, of the Lecture Notes on Mathematical Modeling in the Life Sciences volume Mathematical Modeling of Renal Physiology (2013). Her research focuses on mathematical physiology, multiscale numerical methods, and numerical methods for immersed boundary problems. Laura Miller is Associate Professor of Biology and Mathematics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she also serves as Principal Investigator of the Mathematical Physiology Group. Her research examines the developmental and evolutionary significance of fluid dynamic forces in biological systems, particularly how biological structures have evolved to increase fluid transport and locomotion efficiency, the way fluid forces constrain biological design, and the influence of fluid scaling effects during animal development.