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Illinois IGB

James O'Dwyer

Single model predicts trends in employment, microbiomes, forests

October 25, 2023

Researchers report that a single, simplified model can predict population fluctuations in three unrelated realms: urban employment, human gut microbiomes and tropical forests. The model will help economists, ecologists, public health authorities and others predict and respond to variability in multiple domains, the researchers say.

The new findings are detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.


October 25, 2023


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IGB profile: Kenny Jops

September 11, 2023

Using mathematical models to explain plant community structures

If you have any preconceived notions of what a mathematician is supposed to sound like, perhaps based on representation from the media, a chat with Kenny Jops will have you thinking otherwise. Witty conversation, unfeigned curiosity, and deadpan humor are the trademarks of Jops, a graduate candidate in the Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior program at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who currently studies the math underlying plant communities.  


September 11, 2023


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Team finds reliable predictor of plant species persistence, coexistence

June 9, 2023

Like many ecological scientists, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign plant biology professor James O’Dwyer (CAIM) has spent much of his career searching for ways to measure and predict how specific plant communities will fare over time. Which species in a diverse population will persist and coexist? Which will decline? What factors might contribute to continuing biodiversity?


June 9, 2023


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Classifying microbes differently leads to discovery  

October 12, 2018

Changing the way microbes are classified can reveal similarities among mammals’ gut microbiomes, according to a new study.

The study, published in mBio, proposed an alternative method for classifying microbes that provides insight into human and environmental health.  

James O’Dwyer, an associate professor of plant biology and member of the IGB's Biocomplexity research theme, is a co-author of the study, which was funded by the NSF.


October 12, 2018


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