Programme

LASR 2026: Statistics, Deep Learning and Graphical Models

8:30 am - Welcome and coffee
9.00 am - Opening by Nick Plant, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Research & Innovation
Unveiling the Innovative Cylindrical Galton Board

Session 1: Deep Learning for Protein Structure Modelling - Chair Professor Kanti Mardia.

9.15 am - Featured Talk Kanti V Mardia, University of Leeds, "LASR at 50: Interdisciplinary Statistics, 25 Years of Protein Structure Prediction, and the 2024 Nobel Prize"
9.50 am - Featured Talk Thomas Hamelryck, University of Copenhagen, "AlphaFold's Bayesian Roots in Directional Statistics and Probability Kinematics"
10.25 am - Contributed talk Colin Goodall, University of Leeds (Visitor), "Introducing a Physical Cylindrical Galton Board for Directional Data: Concepts, Challenges, and Applications"
10:50 am Coffee Break
11:15 am - Featured Talk Stephan Huckemann, Georg August University of Göttingen, "Torus PCA and Constrained Shape for Rare Data"
11:45 am - Keynote Speaker Jane Richardson, Duke University, "The Good and the Bad of AlphaFold2 and AlphaFold"
12:30 pm - Lunch with Posters

Session 2: Statistics and Machine Learning for Medical Imaging- Chair Dr Sofya Titarenko.

1:30 pm - Keynote Speaker Emma Robinson, Research Department of Biomedical Computing, King’s College London “Geometric deep learning for precision cortical modelling and simulation”
2:15 pm - Contributed talk Kang You, University of Kent, “Differential Dynamic Causal Nets: Model Construction, Identification and Group Comparisons”
2:35 pm - Contributed talk Alexey Koloydenko, Royal Holloway, University of London “Shape analysis of AF segments for rapid assessment of Mohs layers for BCC presence by AF‐Raman microscopy”
2:55 pm - Coffee Break
3:20 pm - Featured Talk Chuoxin Ma, Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University, “Low-rank structure reshape for tensor regression with application in neuroimaging-based reading comprehension analysis”
3:50 pm - Contributed talk Jian Zhang, University of Kent, “Spectral Power Analysis with M/EEG Data”
4:10 pm - Contributed talk Hui Guo, University of Manchester, "Investigating causal networks of dementia using causal discovery and natural language processing models"
4:30 pm - Networking event

Session 3: Graphical Models and Network Structures - Chair Dr Luisa Cutillo.

9:00 am - Welcome and coffee
9:25 am - Keynote Speaker Daniela De Canditiis, Institute for Applied Calculus (IAC-CNR), “Structure Learning of Complex Systems: Advanced Methods for Inferring Networks from Multiple Count Datasets”
10:10 am - Featured Talk Bailey Andrew, University of Manchester, “Developing practical multi-axis graphical models”
10:45 am - Contributed talk Peter Gracar, University of Leeds, “Detection, coverage and percolation in dynamic Boolean models with random radii based on α-stable processes”
11:10 am - Coffee Break
11:35 am - Featured Talk Valeria Policastro, University of Naples “Federico II”, “Assessing community robustness in weighted networks”
12:10 pm - Contributed talk Puchong Paophan, University of Leeds, "Functional Data Analysis for Time-varying Binary Networks"
12:35 pm - Contributed talk Brian Daniel Bernhardt, University of Cassino, “Explainability and Interpretability in Graph Neural Networks for Complex Systems”
1:00 pm - Closure and Lunch with Posters