SIAM Launches New Journal on the Life Sciences

The most transformative development in applied mathematics in recent decades is arguably the explosive synergy between math and the life sciences. Newly emerging mathematical techniques can address the complex properties that are present in biological systems, such as the interwoven pathways that characterize intracellular dynamics, the complicated biomaterials and geometries that interact in physiological fluid flows and impact organ function, coherent large-scale phenomena like swarms and neural rhythms, and the evolutionary variability within individual species.

The growing momentum of this fruitful cross-fertilization builds on extraordinary technological advancements in the biological sciences (e.g., genomics and imaging), on the rising availability of large-scale computational resources, and on the recognition of the utility of broad areas of mathematics for tackling biological questions. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic sparked an intensified research interest in interdisciplinary partnerships. Moreover, industrial leaders like IBM, Google, and Microsoft, along with small biotechnology companies, are investing in research and development at the interface of mathematics and the life sciences.

SIAM has pioneered this interest by creating a highly successful activity group as well as a lively conference that highlights the aforementioned themes and applications and hosts academic and industrial speakers who present advancements in this area. Now, SIAM has launched the SIAM Journal on Life Sciences (SIALS), which will be a home not only for applied mathematicians but also for theoretical biologists, biophysicists, synthetic biologists, biomechanical and biomedical engineers, and quantitatively oriented experimentalists and clinicians. The focus of this new journal will be consistent with present-day trends in the field, where the importance of theoretical approaches has gained significant recognition and inspired the corresponding mathematical and computational sophistication of practitioners.

SIALS will provide a high-quality publication platform for research that features the substantive use of quantitative methods—including modeling, computing, and mathematical analysis—in the study of biological systems and their applications. More specifically, articles in SIALS will showcase the development of new mathematical models of biological systems, and/or the development and application of new quantitative methodology or sophisticated existing mathematical methodology for the analysis of such models. All submitted articles should address life sciences issues with real biological, medical, or industrial relevance.

In the current publication landscape, authors who develop a mathematical advance that provides a novel explanation about a biologically observed phenomenon must choose between publishing in a journal that targets the appropriate mathematical audience but is not seen by biological practitioners; publishing in a journal that is read by biologists but not by the broad community of mathematicians who would be interested in the advance but not necessarily the biology itself; or splitting the work into two or more articles. SIALS will offer a unique and preferable option with interdisciplinary visibility. To this end, authors will need to explain their work’s novel insights about living systems and use their findings to make biological predictions.

SIALS plans to start accepting submissions this spring/summer. Learn more about the journal and stay tuned for additional information about submissions in the coming months!