UBC researcher wins Canada’s premier mathematical sciences award

Dr. Leah Edelstein-Keshet, a pioneer in mathematical biology, has been awarded the 2025 CRM-Fields-PIMS Prize by the Centre de recherches mathématiques, the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences, and the Fields Institute.

The University of British Columbia (UBC) mathematician has contributed to the understanding of cell polarization, cell motility and collective biological motion. Using mathematical modeling, computational analysis and experimental collaboration, Dr. Edelstein-Keshet has advanced knowledge of critical medical challenges, including Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes.   

She was the first to develop detailed mathematical models describing the chemical signaling mechanisms governing cell motility, work that spurred experimental research validating her predictions. 

According to the award citation: “Dr. Edelstein-Keshet’s ability to balance mathematical rigor with biological relevance has set a standard in the field, earning her acclaim for defining the “modus operandi” of modern mathematical biology research. Her seminal textbook, Mathematical Models in Biology, is considered a classic in the field and has shaped generations of researchers.”

Beyond her research, Edelstein-Keshet has had a profound impact on the mathematical and scientific community, authoring over 100 papers, supervising numerous students, and publishing in mathematical and interdisciplinary journals including Nature and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In 1995, she became the first female president of the Society for Mathematical Biology.  

Dr. Edelstein-Keshet completed her PhD at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1982 under the supervision of Dr. Lee Segel. After holding visiting professorships at Brown University and Duke University, she joined UBC in 1989, where she is currently an Emeritus Professor. Her work has been recognized with the Krieger-Nelson Prize of the Canadian Mathematical Society and the John von Neumann Prize—the most prestigious award given by the international Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. In 2023, she became a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

The CRM-Fields-PIMS prize is the premier Canadian award for research achievements in the mathematical sciences. It is awarded jointly by the three largest Canadian mathematics institutes—the Centre de recherches mathématiques in Montréal, the Fields Institute in Toronto, and the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences in Vancouver.