HIGHLIGHTS
Stochastic block models reveal a robust nested pattern in healthy human gut microbiomes
A key question in human gut microbiome research is what are the robust structural patterns underlying its taxonomic composition. Herein, we use whole metagenomic datasets from healthy human guts to show that such robust patterns do exist, albeit not in the conventional enterotype sense. We first introduce the concept of...
Node Metadata Can Produce Predictability Crossovers in Network Inference Problems
Network inference is the process of learning the properties of complex networks from data. Besides using information about known links in the network, node attributes and other forms of network metadata can help solve network inference problems. Indeed, several approaches have been proposed to introduce metadata into probabilistic network models...
A Bayesian machine scientist to aid in the solution of challenging scientific problems
Closed-form, interpretable mathematical models have been instrumental for advancing our understanding of the world; with the data revolution, we may now be in a position to uncover new such models for many systems from physics to the social sciences. However, to deal with increasing amounts of data, we need “machine...
OUR RESEARCH
Complex Systems
Cells, ecosystems and economies are examples of complex systems. In complex systems, individual components interact with each other, usually in nonlinear ways, giving rise to complex networks of interactions that are neither totally regular nor totally random. Partly because of the interactions themselves and partly because of the interaction's topology, complex systems cannot be properly understood by just analyzing their constituent parts.
Data Science
Humans generate information at an unprecedented pace, with some estimates suggesting that, in a year, we now produce on the order of 10^21 bytes of data, millions of times the amount of information in all the books ever written. Processing this "data deluge", as some have called it, requires new tools and new approaches at the interface of statistics, statistical and machine learning, network theory and statistical physics.
Multidisciplinarity
Our goal is to push forward the boundaries of science. We are interested in addressing fundamental questions in all areas of science including natural, social and economic sciences. We put a special emphasis in the development of tools that aid scientific discovery through understanding and quantification of a specific phenomenon. To this end we have assembled a multidisciplinary team and have established solid collaborations with experts in biology, social sciences, ecology and economics.