The Oxford Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in the Nuffield Department of Medicine is delighted to welcome Helen Byrne, Professor of Mathematical Biology at the University of Oxford. Helen joins Ludwig Oxford as a Senior Group Leader, while retaining her position at the Mathematical Institute in Oxford. This joint appointment will catalyse new multidisciplinary partnerships between Oxford’s Mathematical Institute and Medical Sciences and support the Branch’s vision in improving the understanding of the molecular basis of cancer and its heterogeneous responses to therapy.
Professor Byrne’s research programme operates at the interface of mathematical modelling and cancer biology. She has been a leading figure in establishing productive collaborations between these fields in Oxford, including projects on tumour growth, interactions with the microenvironment and the immune system, vascular networks, and responses to therapy.
To learn more about cancer initiation and progression, Helen’s group will extend its mechanistic models and advanced data analysis methods, and develop innovative ways to combine these with complex, multiscale biomedical datasets. In the longer term, it is hoped that this approach will provide a rational and objective basis to support clinical decision-making, particularly for personalised cancer medicine.
In recognition of her outstanding scientific achievements and record of active leadership in mentoring scientific careers, Helen was awarded the 2019 Leah Edelstein-Keshet Prize from the Society for Mathematical Biology, of which she became a Fellow in 2020.
Ludwig Oxford and the broader Ludwig community extends a warm welcome to Helen and look forward to the exciting new avenues of research that her joint appointment will open at the Branch.