My DPhil uses network representations of protein complexes to predict drug targets, so when a summer school on complex networks came up, I wanted to see what tools and ideas from the broader field I might be missing. The Lake Como School on Complex Networks brought together students and postdocs from universities around the world to discuss recent applications and future possibilities using networks. This was the school’s 10-year anniversary, so we were honoured to have many of the lectures given by founding members of the society.
The programme lasted five days and covered a broad range of topics: using simplicial complexes to capture the topology and geometry of network space; modelling the spatial transmission of infectious disease; branching processes for spreading on networks; dynamics of information spreading in complex environments; temporal networks; financial network models; and analysing the network of international trade.
Highlights
My personal highlight was the first evening, when most attendees gave short talks with a strict maximum of four minutes each. It was a brilliant way to see the variety of research interests in the room and spot possible future collaborators.
Two lectures stood out in particular. Colizza’s lecture on modelling the spread of infectious diseases was fascinating: she walked through different spatial disease models, showing how network structure shapes epidemic dynamics.
Bianconi’s lecture on simplicial complexes introduced me to something I hadn’t encountered before, triadic interactions, where a third node controls the interaction between the other two. A biological example is a glial cell modulating the connection between two neurons.
Broader reflections
It was also very rewarding to meet people working in the broader area of network science and hear how they approach their research and what challenges they have come across. My own specific area of interest, hypergraphs, was not being researched by any other attendees, but the discussions were still thought provoking, and I came away with ideas I may well apply in my work.
And of course, being in Lake Como for the first time also had its advantages – breathtaking views, beautiful architecture, delicious food and tasty cocktails!
