The Predictive Biology Hub for Human and Environmental Health has launched
The Predictive Biology Hub for Human and Environmental Health (PBH) officially launched at the University of Maryland on September 9, 2026. PBH leaders, co-principal investigators, graduate students, and prospective collaborators gathered for an afternoon of...
Dr. Spencer Hobson-Gutierrez joins the Weitz Group
The Weitz group continues to grow, and we are excited to welcome Dr. Spencer Hobson-Gutierrez, a Quantitative Biology Initiative postdoctoral fellow. Spencer comes to us from New York University, where he received his PhD in Theoretical Biology. He also holds an MS in...
New Science Advances paper investigates infection variability
A new paper authored by Prof. Joshua Weitz and led by former graduate student, now postdoctoral researcher at the Plant Health Institute de Montpellier, Dr. Marian Dominguez-Mirazo is published in Science Advances. The study, in collaboration with group of Prof....
Rising to address UMD Grand Challenges
The University of Maryland launched 11 research impact projects via its Grand Challenges Grants Program in July. The Weitz group are involved with two of these funded efforts. Joshua Weitz is Director of the Predictive Biology Hub for Human and Environmental Health...
Two new Quantitative Biology Iniative Postdoctoral Fellows
We congratulate and welcome Spencer Hobson-Gutierrez, a new postdoctoral researcher joining us from NYU who will be working with the Weitz group and the Maltas group at the University of Maryland through a Quantitative Biology Initiative Postdoctoral Fellowship....
New preprint on Interpreting Breakthrough Infections
New collaborative preprint on the risk and interpretation of ‘breakthrough infections’ amidst declining childhood vaccination rates and a sustained, national measles epidemic, co-led with Mallory Harris in collaboration with Akash Arani, Tapan Goel, Kejia...
STAT opinion article: Takeaways from mapping the impacts of NIH cuts
Joshua Weitz writes about his insights that he and his collaborative team gained from the collaborative SCIMaP project in this STAT opinion article. A quantitative measure of scientific output (or the lack thereof) is commonly hard to estimate. SCIMaP has helped to...
Raunak’s feature on CMNS – When Physics and Math Go Viral
Raunak Dey, a physics graduate student in the group, was featured on UMD’s news page of the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences. “Some viruses can be useful, and some viruses can be harmful,” Dey said in this article. “The beauty of it is...
New Funding from Open Philanthropy to Study Impact of Science
Joshua Weitz received a new award from ‘Open Philanthropy’ to engage in collaborative work with University of Pennsylvania and Georgia Tech. The team will develop an interactive, data-driven map to visualize and communicate the economic impacts of proposed...
Michael Roswell off to a new start!
Congratulations to Michael Roswell who is starting a new position as a high school biology teacher in Anne Arundel County, MD. We wish you all the best on your new...
New Paper Published in the ISME Journal
A new paper co-authored by Akash Arani (co-first author) and Prof. Joshua Weitz has been published in The ISME Journal. The study, titled “Episomal virus maintenance enables bacterial population recovery from infection and promotes virus–bacterial...
New Paper on Virus Evolution: Eco-evolutionary Dynamics of Temperate Phages
A new paper authored by Tapan Goel, along with Stephen Beckett and Prof. Joshua Weitz, has been published in Virus Evolution. The study, titled “Eco-evolutionary dynamics of temperate phages in periodic environments,” uses non-linear differential equations to simulate...