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Jennifer Dent,
Research Fellow
Science
& Technology Fellowship Programme China
Field of Research: Mathematical Biology
 I
would consider myself a mathematical biologist who studies disease networks.
Currently on secondment from Veterinary
Laboratories Agency (VLA), UK, where I used differential equation models,
simulations, network analysis and statistics in order to model the dynamics
of animal diseases (specifically avian influenza, salmonella and BSE), I am
now working in the Group of Clinical Genomic Networks, in the field of
computational biology. Here, I am heavily involved in rheumatoid arthritis
(RA) research. The driving force behind my research is to understand the
molecular mechanisms involved in RA in order to be able to understand and
compare the effects of acupuncture with those of conventional medicines, in
the treatment of the disease. In this direction, I have been working on the
reconstruction and the analysis of networks of genes and proteins known to be
involved in RA. Through network analysis methods, we can improve our
understanding of the complexity of the disease, identifying the most
important molecules and the effect of perturbing these molecules in silico. I
am also interested in determining how to build and analyse
such networks from a dynamic perspective.
In addition, since July 2007 and with a break to study Chinese
(Mandarin) in 2009, I have also been studying for a PhD degree in
mathematical biology. The focus of my thesis is the use of mathematical
models (network analysis approaches in particular) to investigate disease
contact structures at the cell and the population level.
Along side the academic aspect of my role, I enjoy playing an active
part in guiding students in the workgroup, encouraging them to think
creatively and to use their initiative to become better scientists. Outside
of work, I enjoying cooking and baking, as well as exercising to burn off all
those extra calories.
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