Van M

Van M. Savage

Curriculum Vitae

October, 2012

University of California at Los Angeles

Biomathematics Department Telephone: 310-206-6692

200 Longwood Ave. Fax: 310-432-5012

Los Angeles, CA 90024 USA E-mail: vsavage@ucla.edu

Web Site: http://www.biomath.ucla.edu/vsavage/

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Biological vascular networks; scaling for individual, population, and community processes;

effects of climate change; cancer; sleep times; organization and constraint of diversity

Mathematics Asymptotics; partial differential equations; stochastic processes; optimization;

models of fractal and asymmetric branching networks; diffusion-reaction equations;

Navier-Stokes equations; Lotka-Volterra-type equations; moment-closure and variational methods

EDUCATION

1996-2001 Ph.D. in Physics, Washington University, St. Louis, MO "Analytical and numerical

methods for studying PT-symmetric but non-Hermitian Hamiltonians", Carl

Bender, Adviser

1996-1999 A.M. in Physics, Washington University, St. Louis, MO,

1992-1996 B.S. in Physics, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN, cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2009-present Assistant Professor, Biomathematics Department, University of California at Los

Angeles, CA

2010-present Assistant Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutinary Biology, UCLA,

Los Angeles, CA

2010-present External Faculty, Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM

2006-2008 Instructor, Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

2004-2006 Systems Biology Postdoctoral Fellow, Bauer Center for Genomics Research,

Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

2001-2004 Joint Postdoctoral Fellow

The Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM

Particles and Fields Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM

1997-2001 Graduate Research Assistantship, Quantum Field Theory DOE grant, Washington

University, St. Louis, MO

GRANTS AND AWARDS

2010-2013 NSF-Population and Community Ecology Grant, "Understanding the temperature dependence of

consumer-resource interactions", $407,000 (PI)

2011-2012 UC Mexus-Conayct, “Systematic Analysis of Genetic Interactions Underlying
Aging in Yeast,” $25,000 (PI)

2008-2011    NSF-Advancing Theory in Biology Grant, “Combining theories for plant
    architecture, allometry, and traits to develop the next generation of scaling theory,”
    $737,521 (co-PI)

2009-2011 Australian Research Council (ARC)-Discovery Projects, "Predicting biodiversity

from population dynamics", $225,000 (co-PI).

2008 ARC-NZ Workshop for Vegetation Function "WG36 Trait-Based Models",

approximately $25,000-$30,000, (PI and Organizer)

2006-2008 NSF-Ecology Grant, "Trait-based approaches for predicting ecosystem response to

environmental change: Empirical tests and model development",

$109,274, (listed as Senior Personnel but served role of co-PI because of my

academic status)

2000 NSF Physics Graduate Fellowship, The Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM

POPULAR PRESS COVERAGE

AmNat Press Release, "Are tropical species more prone to extinction due to climate warming?", 2012,

http://www.asnamnat.org/node/197

PNAS From the Cover, "Variation in universal temperature dependence of biological rates", 2011, PNAS,

108(26), 10377-10378.

Nature News and Views, "Physiology: There is no single p", highlightinh of paper on curvature in metabolic

scaling of mammals, Nature 461: 691-693.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v464/n7289/full/464691a.html

The Edge World Question Center, "What are you optimistic about (for 2007)?", Steven Strogatz,

Cornell University Professor, describes my work on sleep and says it is what he is most

optimistic about for the new year.

http://www.edge.org/q2007/q07_14.html

Harvard Gazette, "Sleep found to repair and reorganize the brain", cover article describing my

recent work on sleep and cell size

http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2007/03.15/01-sleepsize.html

Thomson Scientific's Essential Science Indicators, feature on my work and entry into top 1% of

scientists in environment and ecology in terms of citations, appearing in December 2007.

http://in-cites.com/scientists/2007menu.html

Science Daily, "Species sizes affect lives of cells in mammals", highlight of paper on organismal

constraints on cell size and cellular metabolic rate

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070308220603.htm

PNAS In This Issue, "Geometry of vascular systems governs plant forms", highlighting of paper

on selective pressures on plant architectures, PNAS 104 12952

INVITED PRESENTATIONS

Biology Talks

Invited Speaker, "Effects of size ratios and dimensionality on consumer-resource interactions",

Brown2Fest in honor of James and Astrid Brown's retirement, University of New Mexico,

Albuquerque, NM 2012

Workshop Speaker, "Current perspectives on biological networks and what leaves might teach us",

The Ecology and Evolution of Leaf Vein Networks, University of Western Australia,

Perth, Australia 2011

Seminar Speaker, "Influence of temperature, size, and dimensionality on consumer-resource interactions",

Department of Ecology, Baheavior, and Evolution Seminar Series, University of California,

San Diego, CA 2011

Invited Speaker, "Basic science of global warming and climate change", Connect to Science, Portland

and Beaverton School Districts along with Portland State University, Portland, OR 2011

Seminar Speaker, "Understanding how consumption rate and interaction strengths change with search

strategy, body size, and temperature", Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Seminar Series,

University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 2011

Session Speaker, "An analytical model of tumor growth and angiogenesis that links together cellular

energetics and host vasculature", Casablanca Workshop on Mathematical Biology, Casablanca,

Morocco 2011

Workshop Speaker, "Quantiative models for how organismal traits and environmental drivers influence

consumer-resource pairs, trophic interaction strengths, and food webs", Casablanca Workshop on

Mathematical Biology, Casablanca, Morocco 2011

Contributing Speaker, "How do organismal traits and environmental factors constrain trophic interactions

strengths?", Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Seminar Series, University of

California at Riverside, Riverside, CA 2011

Seminar Speaker, "The temperature dependence of consumer-resource interactions", Ecological Society

of America Annual Meeting, Austin, TX 2011

Plenary Speaker, "Using vascular networks to understand biological scaling, sleep, and tumor

growth", Young Researchers in Mathematical Biology, Matheamatical Biosciences Institute,

Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 2010

Discussion Leader, Gordon Research Conference on the Metabolic Basis of Ecology, "A

metabolic trait basis for ecology/evolution", University of New England, Biddeford, ME 2010

Poster Presentation, Gordon Research Conference on the Metabolic Basis of Ecology,

"Hydraulic tradeoffs and space filling enable better prediction of structure and function in

plants", University of New England, Biddeford, ME 2010

Invited Speaker, "An introduction to biological scaling: Empirical trends and mechanistic

models", Bioonformatics Seminar Series, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 2010

Invited Speaker, "Modeling speciation-extinction dynamics to better understand biodiversity levels",

Darwin's Living Legacy: An International Conference on Evolution and Society, Bibliotheca

Alexandrina, Egypt 2010

Colloquium Speaker, "Biological scaling of sleep times and tumor angiogenesis and growth"

Biomathematics Annual Plenary Speaker, Kenyon College, Gambler, OH 2009

Seminar Speaker, "Linking temperature, metabolic rate, and ecological dynamics",

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Seminar Series, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 2009

Colloquium Speaker, "Using models of vascular networks to understand biological scaling

within individuals and across species", Physics Seminar Series, California State University

at Northridge (CSUN), Los Angeles, CA 2009

Colloquium Speaker, "Power laws, fractals, and the structure and dynamics of vascular systems",

Nanomedicine Seminar Series, Tarzana Hospital, Los Angeles, CA 2009

Colloquium Speaker, "Scaling in vascular networks and applications to tumor angiogenesis and

growth", Biomathemaics Seminar Series, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 2009

Invited Speaker, "Scaling in vascular systems with applications to tumore growth", UCLA

Cardiology Group, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 2009

Colloquium Speaker, "Allometric scaling and physiological networks", Dartmouth College,

Hanover, NH 2008

Invited Speaker, SIAM conference on the Life Sciences, MS4: Investigating neural

mechanisms of sleep and anesthesia through modeling, "A quantitative, metabolic theory of

mammalian sleep", Montreal, Quebec, Canada 2008

Invited Speaker, Gordon Research Conference on the Metabolic Basis of Ecology, "Modeling

and measuring ecological diversity: moving from individual physiology to interactions and the

environment", University of New England, Biddeford, ME 2008

Speaker and Organizer, "WG 36 trait-driver models", ARC-NZ Vegetation Function Network,

Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia 2008

Colloquium Speaker, "Understanding and managing change from ecosystems and the

environment to the economy and education", Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 2008

Colloquium Speaker, "New models for understanding physiological and ecological systems",

New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 2008

Colloquium Speaker, "Linking individuals with ecosystems", Ohio State University, Columbus,

OH 2008

Colloquium Speaker, "Modeling and measuring ecological diversity and organization", Tulane

University, New Orleans, LA 2008

Colloquium Speaker, "Linking individuals with ecosystems: New mathematical methods for

studying physiological and ecological systems", University of California at Los Angeles, Los

Angeles, CA 2008

Colloquium Speaker, "Linking individuals with ecosystems: New models for understanding

physiological and ecological systems", University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CA 2008

Colloquium Speaker, "New mathematical methods for studying physiological and ecological

systems", North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 2008

Colloquium Speaker, "Modeling and measuring ecological diversity", Louisiana State

University, Baton Rouge, LA 2007

Seminar Speaker, "A quantitative, metabolic theory for mammalian sleep", Division of Sleep

Medicine, Brigham and WomenÕs Hospital, Boston MA 2007

Seminar Speaker, "A quantitative theory of tumor growth and vascularization", Center for

Cancer Systems Biology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston MA 2007

Colloquium Speaker, "Scaling from unicells to whales: New methods for studying physiological

and ecological systems", University of Washington, Seattle, WA 20

Invited Speaker, PIBBS Seminar, "Biological scaling and climate change: Effects of temperature

on population growth, species interactions, and rates of adaptation", University of New

Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 2007

Colloquium Speaker, "Scaling in biology", Rhodes College, Memphis, TN 2007

Seminar Speaker, "Scaling and biological networks", Fidelity Investments, Boston, MA

Poster Presentation, Gordon Research Conference on the Metabolic Basis of Ecology, "Cold-

blooded killers: Effects of body size and temperature on predator-prey relations", Bates

College, Lewiston, ME 2006

Colloquium Speaker, "Scaling from unicells to whales", Washington State University, Pullman,

WA 2006

Colloquium Speaker, "Scaling from unicells to whales: constraints on evolution and

development", University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS 2005

Invited Speaker, Physics and Complex Systems Seminar, "Scaling in biology", Chalmers

University, Gothenburg, Sweden, 2005.

Colloquium Speaker, "Scaling in biology: A unifying approach to cells, individuals, and

Ecosystems", James Cook University, Townsville, Australia, 2005.

Invited Speaker and Participant, Vascular Design A: Working meeting of the ARC-NZ

Research Network for Vegetation Function, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, 2005.

Invited Speaker, Gordon Research Conference, "The Allometry of Stoichiometry", Bates

College, ME, 2004.

Plenary Speaker, Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Symposium, Rhodes College,

Memphis, TN, 2004

Colloquium Speaker, PRIMES program (joint between biology, engineering, and math

departments), "Resource-distribution networks and biochemical kinetics", Colorado State

University, Fort Collins, CO, 2003

Symposium Speaker, Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, "Effects of body size and

temperature on population growth", Savannah, GA, 2003

Invited Speaker, Santa Fe Institute workshop: Towards an ecology based on first principles of

size, temperature, and stoichiometry, "Effects of size and temperature on population growth",

Santa Fe, NM, 2002

Invited Speaker, Biology Seminar, "Scaling in populations and ecosystems", University of

Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 2002

Physics Talks

Invited Speaker, International workshop on non-Hermitian Hamiltonians, "PT–symmetric

quantum field theories and the Langevin equation", Prague, Czech Republic, 2003.

Invited Speaker, Physics Theory Seminar, "Numerical simulations of PT–symmetric but non-

Hermitian Hamiltonians", Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 2002

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Professor, The structure, function, and evolution of biological systems, sole designer, creator,

teacher, and grader for graduate course on evolutionary theory, network structure and

motifs, network dynamics, stochastic modeling, power laws in networks, and other

techniques that are useful for modeling and understanding biological systems, UCLA School

of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 2010-present (Student Evaluations: >9/10; avail. upon request)

Professor, Modeling vacular networks with applications, sole designer, creator, teacher, and

grader for graduate course on fluid dynamics, fractals, RLC circuit models, and other

techniques for modeling and understanding vascular systems, UCLA School of Medicine, Los

Angeles, CA 2009-present (Student Evaluations: >9/10; available upon request)

Professor, Mathematical Ecology, EEB 200B, designed and taught sections on community
ecology, including homework and presentation assignments at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 2011

Faculty, Exploring complexity in science and technology from a Santa Fe Institute perspective,

lectured on network structure, dynamics, and power laws in biological systems, social systems,

economics, and energy technology, Portland, OR 2010

Guest Lecturer, Elements of Biomathematics, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA

2010

Guest Lecturer, Circadian Biology: From cellular oscillators to sleep regulation, Harvard

University, Cambridge, MA, 2008

Faculty, Santa Fe Institute Complex Systems Summer School, lectured on mathematical

methods, including scaling theory, diffusion equations, probability and statistics, data analysis,

and coupled ordinary and partial differential equations for studying systems in ecology,

evolution, physiology, physics, medicine, and economics, Santa Fe, NM, 2007

Faculty, Santa Fe Institute Complex Systems Summer School, Beijing, China, 2005-2007

Faculty, Integrative Biology Course Evolutionary and Ecological Genomics, lectured on scaling

methods for studying biological systems Patzcuaro, Mexico, 2006

Faculty, Complex Systems School, joint between the Indian Institute for Mathematical Sciences

and the Santa Fe Institute, Chennai, India, 2006

Guest Lecturer, Introductory Physics, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, University

College, 1998, and Summer, 2001

Teaching Assistant, Epic of Evolution (joint course between Physics, Biology, and Earth and

Planetary Sciences Departments), provided solution sets, helped with in-class demonstrations

and assigning of final grades, and graded, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 2000

Teaching Assistant, Mathematical Methods in Physics and Advanced Mathematical Methods

in Physics, made solution sets and graded, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 1998-1999

Teaching Assistant, Physics and Society, provided solution sets, held office hours, helped

assign final grades, and graded, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 1998

Teaching Assistant, Introductory Physics, taught 3 lab sections per week, assigned final lab

grades, one of 4 out of 12 TAs to hold office hours, and graded, Washington University, St.

Louis, MO, 1996-1998

Teaching Assistant, Intermediate Lab, guided students through experiments, helped assign final

grades, and graded, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN, 1994-1995

COMMITTEES AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

Panel member, EPA STAR Graduate Student Applications for EPA-F2012-STAR-B2 Air,
Climate & Energy: Global Change (B2), 2012

Grant Reviewer for University of Missouri’s Research Board, 2012

Reviewer of applications for the Omidyar Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Santa Fe Institute, Santa
Fe, NM, 2010, 2012.

Biological Sciences Faculty Panel member, part of Honors Research Forum (HC-101A) class at
   UCLA to promote research for undergraduates, 2012
Advisor in Workshop on Writing a Personal Statement, part of Honors Research Forum (HC-
   101A) class at UCLA to promote research for undergraduates, 2012

Organizer, Simplicity, Complexity, and Unity: A search for underlying, quantitative principles in
   physics, biology, and the social sciences, symposium speakers included Murray Gell-Mann, Jim
   Brown, Elaine Pagels, Brian Enquist, David Krakauer, and others, Santa Fe Institute, 2011
   http://www.santafe.edu/research/videos/catalog/?page=12

Co-chair, Graduate Admissions Committee, Department of Biomathematics, UCLA School of

Medicine 2009-present

Seminar Series Organizer, Department of Biomathematics, UCLA School of Medicine, 2009-

2009-present

Guest Editor for Public Library of Science, 2010-2011

Participant and poster judge, UC LEADS Research and Leadership Symposium
(http://www.ucop.edu/ucleads/), UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 2011.
Participant, UC Edge: Graduate Recruitment Day, 2009

External Grant Reviewer for National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for biomathematics groups
on Manduca Sexta, Kenyon College, Gambler, OH 2009

Referee—Numbers in parentheses denote articles reviewed for that journal in 2011—for Science
    (1), Nature (1), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (3), Physical Review Letters
    (1), Trends in Ecology and Evolution, The American Naturalist (2), Ecology Letters (2),
    Functional Ecology (1), Journal of Experimental Biology, Proceedings of the Royal Society A,
    Proceedings of the Royal Society B (1), Journal of the Royal Society Interface (2), British
    Journal of Cancer, Computers in Biology and Medicine (1), Physics in Medicine and Biology,
    Comprehensive Physiology (1), Oikos (3), Journal of Animal Ecology, Journal of Theoretical
    Biology, Tree Physiology, New Phytologist (1), Global Ecology and Biogeography (1), Journal
    of Gerontology: Biological Sciences (1), Integrative Zoology, Journal of Physics A:
    Mathematics and General, Journal of Mathematical Physics, Physics Letters A, International
    Journal of Modern Physics Letters, Ecology and Society, Acta Oecologia, Journal of Animal
    Ecology

Consultant to David Malakoff for ScienceNow, 2008

Grant Reviewer for National Science Foundation (NSF), 2006

Grant Reviewer for the City University of New York System, 2007

Member of Selection Committee for the Complex Systems Summer School at the Santa Fe

Institute, Santa Fe, NM, 2002-2006

Member of Teaching Assistant Committee, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 2000

Graduate Council Representative and Student Government Senator, Washington University, St.

Louis, MO, 1998-2000

Chair of Academic Affairs Committee, Along with two others, I wrote a 40 page report based

on our extensive research and dialogue with other colleges that suggested changes to the

tenure-review process at Rhodes College. The majority of our suggestions were adopted.

Rhodes College, Memphis, TN, 1994-1996

MENTORED POSTDOCS AND STUDENTS

Advisor to Masters student, Mitchell Johnson, Department of Biomathematics, UCLA School of
Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, 2011. Masters Thesis: “Automated measurements of vessel
networks from MRI and comparison to scaling theory” successfully defended.
Advising PhD student, Lewis Lee, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA,
working to model persistors when using drugs on bacteria, 2011-present.
Advising MD/PhD student, Kevin Leu, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA,
working to model transition from proliferative to quiescent to necrotic cells during tumor growth
as a function of tumor size, host size, and drug delivery, 2011-present
Advisor to postdoctoral researchers, Anthony Dell and Samraat Pawar, UCLA School of
Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 2009-present
Advisor to Kina Winoto, undergraduate in computer science at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 2011-
present
Advisor to Sania Pouyanrad, Dalit Yadegaran, and Agafe Saguros, undergraduates in ecology at
   UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 2011-present
Advisor to Janice Chan, undergraduate in ecology at UCLA Los Angeles, CA, 2010-2011
Co-Advisor to postdoctoral researcher, Lisa P. Bentley, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 2008-
   Present
Member of Doctoral Committee for Maggie Simon, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary
   Biology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 2011-present
Member of Doctoral Committee for Josh Chang, Department of Biomathematics, UCLA, Los
   Angeles, CA 2009-present
Member of Doctoral Committee for Christopher Johnson, Department of Ecology and
    Evolutionary Biology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 2009-present

Advisor to Alex Duncan (undergraduate at Cornell University), summer research intern,

Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 2008

Advisor to Alex Herman (currently in MD/PhD program at UCSF), Research Experience for

Undergraduates, Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, 2002-2004

POSTDOC AND STUDENT AWARDS AND PRESENTATIONS
Undergraduate Research Fellows Program, stipend and workshops awarded to undergraduate
Agafe Saguros based on her video-tracking experiments performed in my group, 2012.
Session Moderator, Session: Evolutionary Processes in Ecological Networks, Ecological Society
of America Annual Meeting, S. Pawar, Austin, TX 2011
Talk, "A general model for the body size and temperature scaling of consumer-resource
interactions", Tupper Seminar, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), S. Pawar,
Panama 2011
Talk, "Consumption rates and trophic interaction strengths are constrained by dimensionality of
consumer search space", Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, S. Pawar, Austin, TX
2011
Poster, "Understanding variation in the temperature dependence of physiological and ecological
traits", Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, T. Dell, Austin, TX 2011
Talk, "The effects of body size and temperature on consumer-resource interactions and population
dynamics", UC Santa Barbara EcoLunch, S. Pawar, Santa Barbara, CA 2010
Presentation, "A general model for the body size and temperature scaling of consumer-resource
interactions", Gordon Research Conference, S. Pawar, University of New England, Biddeford,
ME 2010
NSF Bioinformatics Postdoctoral Fellowship, two years of funding for postdoctorals research and
    money for purchasing equipment equal to to approcimately to $120,000, L. Patrick, University of
    Arizona, Tucson, AZ 2009-present
Poster, "A direct evaluation of plant metabolic scaling theory using empirical measurements of
    whole-tree branching architecture", Gordon Research Conference, L.P. Bentley, University of
New England, Biddeford, ME 2010
Poster, "A general model for the body size and temperature scaling of consumer-resource
    interactions", Gordon Research Conference, S. Pawar, University of New England, Biddeford,
    ME 2010
Poster, "The allometry of tree water transport and growth: a case study of co-occurring diffuse-
and ring-porous species", Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, E. von Allmen,
Pittsburgh, PA 2010
Invited Speaker, "Evaluating metabolic scaling assumptions of tree branching networks", L.
    Patrick Bentley, Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM 2009
Poster, "Evaluating the structure and allometry of plant vascular systems to scale plant carbon
    flux", Biospehere 2 Symposium, L. Patrick Bentley, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 2009

REFERENCES

Geoffrey B. West

President of the Santa Fe Institute

Senior Laboratory Fellow, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Santa Fe Institute

Santa Fe, NM 87501

Telephone: 505-667-5382

E-mail: gbw@lanl.gov

Geoff is frequently traveling, so it is often best to contact his assistant at: dlu@santafe.edu

James H. Brown

Distinguished Professor

Member of National Academy of Sciences

Biology Department