The University of the Philippines (UP) Mindanao will host the “4th International Workshop on Mathematical Biology'' or IWOMB 2021, to be held online via Zoom on 09-11 June 2021 with the theme "Strengthening Decision-Support Systems for Better Public Policy through Infectious Disease Modeling." 

Since its establishment in 2018, IWOMB has aimed to promote mathematical biology research in the Philippines and provide an opportunity for researchers to establish collaborations across the Philippines and abroad. IWOMB 2021 will gather Filipino and foreign experts working in mathematics and life sciences, including population dynamics, ecology, development biology, biophysics, physiology, and epidemiology, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, to name a few.

The IWOMB 2021 keynote speakers are Dr. Tyll Krueger of Wroclaw University of Science and Technology on Day 1 and Dr. Jomar Rabajante of the University of the Philippines Los Baños on Day 3. The plenary speakers are: Dr. Alastair Jamieson-Lane of the University of Oldenburg, Dr. Wolfgang Bock of Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, and Dr. Alejandra Herrera-Reyes of the University of Nottingham on Day 1; Dr. Aurelio de los Reyes V of the University of the Philippines-Diliman and Dr. Youcef Mammeri of the Université de Picardie Jules Verne on Day 3.

The IWOMB 2021 keynote and plenary talks on Day 1 and all of Day 3 will be open to the public via live-streaming on YouTube. Interested persons may access the Free Live Stream through the URL, “bit.ly/AMDABiDSSHealth.” Upon opening the URL, click the “Subscribe” button, click the Notification Bell icon, which will open a drop-down menu, and click “All.” On the day of IWOMB, the subscriber will receive an email from YouTube containing the link to the Live Stream.

For more information, IWOMB 2021’s official website is at http://bit.ly/IWOMB2021Website and the official Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/IWOMB2021.

A Scientific Poster Presentation on Day 2 will feature three-minute talks by eight finalists who will communicate their scientific discoveries using popular language.  

IWOMB 2021 is designed as a workshop, or mini-course wherein selected participants are given lectures and learning materials and projects to be solved in workshop groups. The participants are expected to have learned and applied relevant mathematical modeling in solving biology-related problems by the end of the three-day event. 

The scope and instructors of IWOMB Workshop Series #1 to #6 are: “Introduction to Numerical Methods for Stochastic Models” with Dr. Herrera-Reyes & Dr. Jamieson-Lane; “From Infection to Disease Spread - Multiscale Modeling” with Dr. Alexis Erich Almocera; “Seeing you every day! Understanding Disease Dynamics using Panel Regression Approach” with UP Mindanao’s Dr. Pedro Alviola IV and Mr. Zython Paul Lachica; “Optimizing Logistical Operations in Health Services: Application of Location-allocation Models” with Dr. Rhoda Namoco; “Introduction to Mathematical Epidemiology: Ordinary Differential Equations” with Dr. Stacey Smith? and Mr. Abel Lucido; and “Spatiotemporal Pattern of Infectious Diseases” with Dr. Jayrold Arcede, Dr. Randy Caga-anan, and Dr. Mammeri. 

The Center for Applied Modeling, Data Analytics, and Bioinformatics for Decision Support System in Health (AMDABiDSS-Health) is the lead organizer of IWOMB 2021. AMDABiDSS-Health is a newly-established UP Mindanao research center focused on deriving insights from patterns and correlations in health-related data using quantitative methods, data analytics, and applied mathematical modeling approaches. Its main objective is to create decision-support systems that will empower local government units and public health officials. AMDABiDSS-Health may be contacted through: .

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How can netizens help separate fact from fiction in the time of coronavirus? To provide solutions to this question, the University of the Philippines Mindanao College of Humanities and Social Sciences is co-presenting the webinar, "MovePH webinar: Fact-checking in the time of coronavirus" on 11 June 2021. [corrected date]

The webinar is open to the public free of charge. Interested persons may register here: https://bit.ly/3vVsX3N.

MovePH, Rappler’s civic engagement arm has been leading a series of fact-checking webinars in the time of coronavirus aimed at training participants to spot disinformation online and combat it. During the webinar, Ms. Raisa Serafica, Rappler’s head of civic engagement, will discuss the internet environment during the pandemic and Ms. Vernise Tantuco, Rappler’s researcher/writer, will discuss the fact-checking methodology. There will also be a Q&A session and a spot-check exercise.

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