Academic Panel

Anthony Lee, University of Warwick

Anthony is an Assistant Professor in the Statistics Department at the University of Warwick. His research is in computational statistics, with an emphasis on Monte Carlo methodology and its applications in Bayesian inference. He studied Computer Science at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, before undertaking his DPhil. in Statistics at the University of Oxford under the supervision of Prof. Chris Holmes. His doctoral studies were funded by the Clarendon Fund and the Oxford--Man Institute.

Upon graduation in 2011, he moved to Warwick as a Research Fellow, and became an Assistant Professor in 2013. He is a Faculty Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute for Data Science, and the first Course Director for the BSc. Data Science degree at Warwick.

Clare Martin, Oxford Brookes University

Clare Martin is a Principal Lecturer in Computer Science at Oxford Brookes University. Most of her research has involved the use of formal methods to reason about programs and specifications but in recent years she has also been conducting research into technology for diabetes management. This has included usability studies of mobile applications for managing the condition and a formal development of a prototype mobile case-based reasoning application to assist with decision making for Type 1 diabetes. Clare is the project coordinator for the three year Horizon 2020 PEPPER (Patient Empowerment through Predictive Personalised decision support) project to research a personalised decision support system to empower individuals with Type 1 diabetes.                                  http://www.pepper.eu.com/

Clare did her undergraduate degree in Mathematics at Oxford University (1982-85). After two years working as a computer consultant she then returned to do an MSc (1987-88) followed by a DPhil in Computer Science under Tony Hoare (1988-91).

Apala Majumdar,  University of Bath

Apala Majumdar is Reader (Associate Professor) in applied mathematics and EPSRC Career Acceleration Fellow at the Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Bath, United Kingdom. She is an OCIAM Visiting Fellow at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford and is affiliated with the Advanced Studies Centre, Keble College. Apala specializes in the mathematics and modeling of liquid crystals, which are classes of materials that are intermediate in character between the solid and liquid phases of matter. Liquid crystals have widespread applications across modern science and technology. Notably, nematic liquid crystals form the backbone of the multi-billion dollar liquid crystal display industry. Apala uses a combination of techniques from different branches of mathematics such as calculus of variations, theory of partial differential equations, algebraic topology and dynamical systems to model prototype liquid crystalline systems, motivated by new experiments and new applications such as new liquid crystal devices. Her analytical work is often complemented by numerical simulations, yielding quantitative predictions about system properties, defects, structural transitions and system responses to external stimuli. Apala has successfully worked with physicists, chemists and numerical modellers  and her work is a good example of the interplay between mathematics and applications in an interdisciplinary setting.

Apala has an MSci in Mathematics and Physics and a Ph.D. in applied mathematics from the University of Bristol, United Kingdom. She moved to the University of Oxford as a Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Research Fellow in 2006 to work in the Oxford Centre for Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations. In 2008, she was appointed to be an OCCAM (Oxford Centre for Collaborative Applied Mathematics) Research Fellow and in 2011, she was awarded a 5-year EPSRC Career Acceleration Fellowship. Apala received the British Liquid Crystal Society Young Scientist Prize in 2012 for her contributions to the mathematics of liquid crystals. Apala moved to the University of Bath in August 2012 and was promoted to Reader in 2013. In 2015, Apala became the first recipient of the London Mathematical Society Anne Bennett Prize for her outstanding contributions to the mathematics of liquid crystals. Apala hopes to continue her rich and varied interdisciplinary work in the future, truly integrating mathematics with cutting-edge applications in materials science.

Blanca Rodriguez, University of Oxford

Blanca Rodriguez is Professor of Computational Medicine and holds a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship in Basic Biomedical Science at the University of Oxford. Her scientific interest is in investigating the causes and modulators of variability in the electrophysiological response of the human heart to disease and medicines using multiscale computational modelling and simulation. With the Computational Cardiovascular Science team (www.cs.ox.ac.uk/ccs), she aims at embedding computational methods in cardiovascular research to augment experimental and clinical investigations, in close collaboration with world-leading experts in cardiovascular medicine and pharmacology. Blanca also acts as advisor on in silico methods for toxicology and pharmacology assessment to industry and organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration and the National Centre for the 3Rs of Animals in Research. Blanca is actively engaged in training and career development of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, who have received numerous international awards. She is committed to promoting women in science and technology, as diversity is key to the success of any organisation. 

Blanca is an Engineer by training from the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, where she also conducted her PhD (1998-2001). She then trained as a postdoc at Tulane University in the USA, before moving to Oxford in 2004, to become a Medical Research Council Career Development Fellow (2007-2013), prior to her current position.