Ian Dewan

Research

I’m currently a doctoral student with Hildegard Uecker, working on mathematical models of the population genetics of bacterial plasmids, particularly the evolutionary implications of multicopy plasmids carrying distinct alleles. A motivating example is the contribution of multicopy plasmids to the evolution of multiple-drug resistance, for which I have developed a stochastic evolutionary rescue model. You can find an overview of some of my work so far in a graphical abstract and a poster I made for internal conferences.

My general research interests are in applications of mathematics, particularly probabilistic and stochastic models, to problems in ecology and evolution. I previously did an MSc with Tom Sherratt working on models of optimal predator behaviour under uncertainty.

Publications

• Han KY, Kröger L, Buchholz F, Dewan I, Quaas M, Schulenburg H, & Reusch TBH (2023). “The economics of microbiodiversity.” Ecological Economics 204. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2022.107664
• Beauvais-Feisthauer J, Blute R, Dewan I, Drummond B, & Jacqmin P-A (2020). “Finiteness spaces, étale groupoids and their convolution algebras.” Semigroup Forum 101(2), pp. 243–258. doi:10.1007/s00233-020-10096-4
• Dewan I, Garland T, Hiramatsu L, & Careau V (2019). “I Smell a Mouse: Indirect Genetic Effects on Voluntary Wheel-Running Distance, Duration and Speed.” Behavior Genetics 49(1), pp. 49–59. doi:10.1007/s10519-018-9930-2

Conference Presentations

• Mathematical Models of Evolutionary Rescue (June 2023)

  Rescue of bacterial populations by plasmid-mediated heterozygosity

• Modelling Resistance Evolution — Theoretical Methodology Symposium (April 2023)

  Evolution of multidrug resistance from plasmid-mediated heterozygosity

• Mathematical Models in Ecology and Evolution 2022

  Plasmid-mediated heterozygosity, multidrug resistance, and evolutionary rescue in bacteria

• Mathematical Models in Ecology and Evolution 2019

  Run Away! Optimal Predator Responses to Startle Displays

• Ottawa-Carleton Institute of Biology Symposium 2019

  Run Away! The Adaptive Advantage of Being Startled

• Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution Meeting 2018

  Too Close for Comfort: Modelling Predator Generalization of Prey Palatability

• Wild Animal Model Biennial Meeting 2017

  IGEs and Voluntary Wheel Running in Mice