Phylomania 2011

The UTas Theoretical Phylogenetics Meeting

 Nov 10-11, 2011, University of Tasmania

Organized by: Jeremy Sumner and Barbara Holland

Phylogenetics is concerned with the problem of reconstructing the past evolutionary history of organisms from molecular data such as DNA or morphological characters. There is ongoing interest in further development of the mathematics that underlies computational phylogenetic methods. Hidden from view, in the software packages used by biologists, are algorithms performing statistical inference using Markov models on binary trees. The mathematics involved represents a wonderful confluence of stochastic methods and probability theory (Markov chain models), discrete mathematics (combinatorics of tree space), statistical inference (maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods) and, more recently, methods taken from algebraic geometry and the representation theory of finite and infinite (Lie) groups. There are many important theoretical problems that arise, such as statistical identifiability of models, consistency and convergence of methods. These problems can only be solved using a multi-disciplinary approach. Phylomania brings together phylogenetic researchers with a strong theoretical leaning, with the aim of discussing and attacking some of the more pressing problems.