Helen Byrne facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Helen Byrne
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| Alma mater | University of Cambridge University of Oxford |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | University of Bath University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology University of Nottingham University of Oxford |
| Thesis | Modelling Combustion Zones in Porous Media (1991) |
| Doctoral advisor | John Norbury |
Helen M. Byrne is a smart mathematician at the University of Oxford. She is a Professor of Mathematical Biology. This means she uses math to understand living things. She also works at Keble College. Professor Byrne creates math models to study things like tumours (which are like abnormal growths). In 2019, she won a special award called the Leah Edelstein-Keshet Prize. She got it for her amazing science work and for helping other scientists. In 2021, she became a Fellow of the Society for Mathematical Biology.
Becoming a Scientist
Helen Byrne went to Manchester High School for Girls. She then studied mathematics at Newnham College, Cambridge. There, she became very interested in how math could solve real-world problems.
She moved to Wadham College, Oxford for her advanced studies. She earned a master's degree in Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Analysis. She stayed at Oxford to get her PhD in applied mathematics.
After her studies, she worked at Hammersmith Hospital. This is where she started using math to study biology and medicine. She looked at how oxygen and sugar move in tumours. She used special scans called positron emission tomography (PET) scans. She learned that her math skills could help understand how tumours grow.
Research and Career Highlights
Professor Byrne worked at the University of Bath starting in 1993. In 1996, she became a lecturer at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.
Then, in 1998, she joined the University of Nottingham. She became a Professor of Applied Mathematics there in 2003. She helped create a special center at Nottingham. It was called the Nottingham Centre for Mathematical Medicine and Biology. She led this center from 1999 to 2011.
In 2011, Professor Byrne joined the University of Oxford. She became a Professor of Mathematical Biology. Her research focuses on using math models to describe biological tissues. She studies how oxygen levels affect how our bodies work. She creates complex models to understand how diseases progress. She even helped show that cells sometimes "eat" other cells. This process can be involved in inflammatory diseases.
From 2016 to 2020, Professor Byrne was a Director at Oxford. She worked on making sure everyone had equal chances. This was for the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences (MPLS) Division.
She is also a co-director of the University of Liverpool 3D BioNet. This group studies how cells grow in three dimensions. She was also part of the Cyclops Healthcare Network. This group worked on healthcare from 2016 to 2019. She is also a member of the IBS Biomedical Mathematics Group.
Outside of Science
When Helen Byrne was a student at Oxford, she loved to row. She competed in the Henley Boat Races in 1990 and 1991. She earned a "half blue" award each time for her rowing skills.
