Interdisciplinary seminar by Dr Thea Newman

Speaker: Dr Thea Newman (Solaravus Consulting).

Title: First and Second Escapes: i) austere beauty in diffusion and ii) striking insights from a null model of metastasis.

Abstract: In this talk I will explain some striking results from two papers published quite some time ago. The first topic concerns very high critical dimensions lurking in the linear diffusion equation, relating to rare and highly persistent fluctuations [TJ Newman and W Loinaz (2001) PRL 86 2712]. The second regards dynamical phenotypes of metastasis arising from diametrically opposing mechanisms: i) rare tumour cells with high invasion fitness that have determinstic dynamics, vesus ii) tumour cells with low invasion fitness that have rare dynamics. The comparison between rare fitness and rare dynamics yields surprising outcomes of potential medical relevance [LH Cisneros and TJ Newman (2014) Phys Biol 11 046003]. I believe these two papers deserve an airing in 2026, given what I believe to be their unusual beauty and potential significance.

About the speaker: Thea Newman is an interdisciplinary scientist with a background spanning theoretical physics, biology, research leadership, and science communication. For over two decades, she has applied approaches from physics to address challenges in the life sciences, including through major interdisciplinary initiatives in cancer research. She has held senior academic leadership roles, including Vice-Principal for Research at the University of Dundee and Director of the Center for Biological Physics at the Arizona State University. She is now leading independent research, education, and outreach through her consultancy, SOLARAVUS.