Tianyong Yao is a first-year Ph.D. student in the Program in Applied and Computational Mathematics (PACM) at Princeton University and a member of the Levin Lab. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in Honors Mathematics and Honors Interdisciplinary Physics. His research interests broadly span mathematical biology, including evolutionary game theory, ecological and evolutionary dynamics, infectious disease modeling, and computational neuroscience. More broadly, he is interested in how mathematical structure can reveal hidden biological mechanisms and clarify the principles underlying complex biological systems.

At Princeton, he hopes to study the connections and distinctions between ecological models and evolutionary game-theoretic models. He is particularly interested in when different systems share similar dynamical structures, what biological meaning is preserved under transformations between models, and when mathematical equivalence fails to imply biological equivalence. He also hopes to explore these questions in settings involving higher-order interactions, nonlinear dynamics, and invasion or stability criteria.

Outside of research, Tianyong enjoys traveling, snowboarding, scuba diving, and photography. He is also a big fan of Michigan sports — Go Blue! In his free time, he enjoys the company of WuBoom, a ragdoll cat, and Qubit, an energetic border collie.