Nicholas Landry

Nicholas Landry is an Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Virginia, where he leads an interdisciplinary lab focused on understanding how networks and higher-order interactions influence the spread of diseases, information, and opinions. His research integrates network science, mathematical modeling, Bayesian inference, and open-source software development to explore the complex dynamics of contagion and social influence.

His work spans several key areas:

• Dynamical processes on complex systems – Investigating how contagion spreads on social networks, whether in the form of ideas or illnesses, to better understand epidemics that impact daily life. Social networks frequently involve group (higher-order) interactions, which can significantly influence infection or opinion adoption dynamics.
• Measuring and inferring network structure – Examining how data collection choices and modeling approaches shape conclusions in network science. The lab applies Bayesian inference to infer model parameters and network structures from diverse data sources.
• Open-source software development – Supporting higher-order network science through open-source tools that facilitate cross-disciplinary research. The lab maintains the XGI and HyperContagion libraries, providing essential resources for researchers working with higher-order networks.

Through this work, Landry aims to build connections across disciplines, fostering collaborations between the Biology Department, the Biocomplexity Institute, the Quantitative Collaborative, and the School of Data Science at UVA, among others.