Anita Layton


Dr Layton joined the University of Waterloo in 2018. Before then, she held the position of the Robert R. and Katherine B. Penn Professor of Mathematics, and Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Medicine at Duke University. She is the Deputy Editor of the American Journal of Physiology–Renal Physiology, Associate Editor of SIAM Review Book Section, and Associate Editor of the SIAM Journal on Applied Dynamical Systems. She also serves as the Associate Dean, Research and International, for the Faculty of Mathematics, and chairs the Research Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Council at the University of Waterloo.

From this contributor

Explore more from The Transmitter

Research image of mouse and human Purkinje cells.

Purkinje cells evolved to have increasingly complex architecture

An increasing proportion of the cerebellar neurons acquired multiple primary dendrites in humans and other apes, according to a comparison of 11 primate species.

By Siddhant Pusdekar
16 July 2026 | 5 min read
Research image of mouse brain.

Making waves: Sleep-like brain activity in awake mice lowers sleep need, boosts memory

Alternating on/off firing patterns don’t just characterize deep, slow-wave sleep, they drive some of its restorative benefits, new findings suggest.

By Alissa de Chassey
16 July 2026 | 4 min read

Is our intelligence rooted in how living organisms are organized?

Kathryn Nave explains how a concept called constraint closure may be fundamental to understanding brains, minds and cognition.

By Paul Middlebrooks
15 July 2026 | 1 min read