The world is made up of complex systems, from power grids and neural networks to fish migration and microbial communities. Researchers at WID work to characterize, model, and understand such systems to make advances in medicine, agriculture, technology, the environment, and more.
Systems Biology
We use computational and mathematical tools alongside laboratory studies to understand interactions within complex biological systems.
Microbiome
We study the communities of microorganisms that live on or in people, plants, soil, oceans, and the atmosphere and which influence human health and ecosystems.
Multi-Omics
We are working to manage and utilize massive biological data sets to understand gene regulation, cellular reprogramming, precision medicine, and more.
Data Science
From fundamental mathematics to optimization and machine learning, our data science research is making sense of complex systems.
Complex Systems Faculty
See all WID Faculty
Complexity underlies nearly all research at WID. Our faculty study diverse systems, from power grids to microbial communities and everything in between. Below are some of the WID faculty working on complex systems.
Alberto Del Pia
Industrial & Systems Engineering
John Denu
Biomolecular Chemistry
Michael Ferris
Computer Sciences
Jo Handelsman
Plant Pathology
Laurent Lessard
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Sushmita Roy
Biostatistics & Medical Informatics
Daniel Pimentel-Alarcon
Biostatistics & Medical Informatics
Claudia Solís-Lemus
Plant Pathology
Thomas Rutherford
Agricultural & Applied Economics
Karen Schloss
Psychology
John Yin
Chemical & Biological Engineering
Xuehua Zhong
Laboratory of Genetics
New Effective and Safe Antifungal Isolated from Sea Squirt Microbiome
Featured Science
By combing the ocean for antimicrobials, scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have discovered a new antifungal compound that efficiently targets multi-drug-resistant strains of deadly fungi without toxic side effects in mice. WID postdoc Marc Chevrette is part of the team that published the finding in Science.
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Researchers Look to Control Organ Function Through New Computational Model
WID News
A cross-institutional team including WID's John Yin is creating a computational model to guide the development of bladder therapeutics.
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Data Science Research Bazaar Seeks Proposals
WID News
The Bazaar, happening throughout February, 2021, has the theme Data Science for the Social Good.
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UW–Madison to Continue Fundamental Data Science Research with Phase II Award from NSF
WID News
The Wisconsin Institute for Discovery is home to the Institute for the Foundations of Data Science, which has received Phase II funding from the National Science Foundation.
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With NASA Award, PhD Student Seeks Answers to LIfe's Biggest Questions
Wisconsin Stories
Lena Vincent is a graduate student in David Baum's lab at WID. She studies the origin of life by searching for life-like behaviors in systems of molecules.
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Solís-Lemus Awarded Grant to Develop Statistical Theory for Soil Data
WID News
Assistant professor of plant pathology Claudia Solís-Lemus is a recipient of funding from the Department of Energy to develop statistical theory and tools for computational biology.
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