Lindi Wahl

Lindi Wahl is a Professor of Mathematics at Western University, holding a Canada Research Chair in Mathematical Biology. She teaches courses in applied mathematics, including AM2402a scheduled for fall 2025, and directs an active research group focused on mathematical biology. Her office is located in Room 267, Middlesex College, and she maintains regular office hours on Wednesdays from 3:30-4:30pm.

Wahl's research spans multiple areas of mathematical biology with a particular emphasis on evolutionary dynamics. Her work employs mathematical models to understand microbial evolution, viral dynamics (especially HIV), disease modeling, and bioinformatics. She has developed innovative approaches to studying how mutations arise and spread in evolving populations, with applications ranging from antibiotic resistance to viral evolution. Her research group regularly collaborates with experimentalists across diverse biological disciplines.

Analysis of Wahl's recent publications reveals a strong focus on evolutionary processes in microbial systems, particularly examining how mutation spectra, population bottlenecks, and selection pressures shape evolutionary trajectories. Her work increasingly integrates theoretical models with empirical data, especially in virology and microbial evolution. Significant themes include the dynamics of prophages in bacterial genomes, within-host viral evolution (particularly SARS-CoV-2), and the mathematical foundations of evolutionary rescue.

• Canada Research Chair in Mathematical Biology
• Premier's Research Excellence Award from the Ontario Ministry of Science, Technology and Industry

Wahl mentors a substantial research group comprising PhD and MSc students, postdoctoral fellows, and undergraduate researchers. Her group has received significant funding from NSERC, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, and other major granting agencies. She has been instrumental in developing educational initiatives, including the 'Students as Partners' program at Western's Teaching Support Centre where she served as a Teaching Fellow from 2017-2021. Her research group maintains active collaborations with institutions worldwide and has produced numerous high-impact publications across mathematical biology disciplines.

Wahl's research laboratory operates as a collaborative hub for mathematical biologists, with students working on diverse projects spanning theoretical neuroscience, epidemiology, evolutionary game theory, and bioinformatics. The group has developed specialized computational approaches for analyzing complex biological systems and maintains strong connections with experimental laboratories to validate theoretical predictions.