Academic Career

Oxford. Recently started postdoc.

what are you doing it on? Hope I'm not being too nosy- I'm just very curious

Cancer modelling.

that sounds interesting which college did you study for your undergrad?

The Other Place (Cambridge).

Cancer modelling.

Cancer modelling.

just realised you perhaps know Janet Dyson from Mansfield - I think one of her research interests was in cancer modelling

Thats amazing shiny. Hope you dont mind me asking-which book(s) would you recommend for a beginner like me trying to learn more about mathematical biology? Any particular cancer of interest in your modelling? How much did your undergraduate at cambridge prepare you for research in mathematical biology/medicine?

I wouldn't recommend any actually. As I said in previous posts, most people who go into the field at graduate level do so with little or no prior experience of math biology at undergraduate and I sometimes think this is the best way (people who study a bit at undergraduate have this tendency to just continue the same work at graduate level and sometimes miss out on gaining wider experience of the field). If you want to do some reading you are better off reading up on some basic cell biology, biochemistry and some genetics in order to get some grasp of the science.

There has been a tendency in the past (and something which funding bodies and biological people are wary about nowadays) that some mathematicians end up concentrating too much on the "mathematical" side of mathematical biology and start to depart too much from the actual science. Some of the best work I've seen done in math biology recently is by researchers who have a solid grasp of how the mathematics relates to the biology and who never lose sight of how the maths can be used to answer biological questions rather than seeing the maths as an end in itself.
I study quite a few cancers including breast, colon and leukaemia but my undergraduate experience gave me no direct experience of math biology.

I wouldn't recommend any actually. As I said in previous posts, most people who go into the field at graduate level do so with little or no prior experience of math biology at undergraduate and I sometimes think this is the best way (people who study a bit at undergraduate have this tendency to just continue the same work at graduate level and sometimes miss out on gaining wider experience of the field). If you want to do some reading you are better off reading up on some basic cell biology, biochemistry and some genetics in order to get some grasp of the science.

There has been a tendency in the past (and something which funding bodies and biological people are wary about nowadays) that some mathematicians end up concentrating too much on the "mathematical" side of mathematical biology and start to depart too much from the actual science. Some of the best work I've seen done in math biology recently is by researchers who have a solid grasp of how the mathematics relates to the biology and who never lose sight of how the maths can be used to answer biological questions rather than seeing the maths as an end in itself.

I study quite a few cancers including breast, colon and leukaemia but my undergraduate experience gave me no direct experience of math biology.

Point taken Billlionheart. Say if you did decide to go for an MSc at say Cambridge, do these top class departments consider where you have done your BSc? Lets assume the Bsc was a first class.

Well at Manchester postgraduate entry we are looking for a "good " first for postgraduate entry. Beyond that a personal reference from a respected mathematician is likely to be the decisive factor.

This may sound like a silly question but where would one find a reputable mathematician? Logically I would assume at a reputable uni but what you said suggests they can be found at less reputable unis; I'm by no means saying this is impossible just seems less likely. Thanks

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So does it make the slightest difference which university you go to? Like a lot of people if I had the chance I would love to do a doctorate at a top 10 maths dept at least eventually but dont know how much my first degree will restrict me which was what I was trying to find out ultimately

And thanks for the info, I'll definitely try to make use of it

For most people it would be one of your course tutors or lecturers and so it is a matter of trying to get to know one of the members of faculty who has a bit of seniority and experience and whose appraisal of you will be well-regarded. You just need to be a bit street smart and do your background research -- most academics have websites these days.

Well at Manchester postgraduate entry we are looking for a "good " first for postgraduate entry. Beyond that a personal reference from a respected mathematician is likely to be the decisive factor.

What, in general, do you count as a 'good' first?

Its not entirely well defined, but personally I would expect most if not all final year marks to be first class, and some of the relevant ones especially to be really high. Typically that makes to overall average above 80% but the profile is probably more important than the mean. I am not, I hasten to add, on the committee that allocates the DTA awards at Manchester so I don't actually know what criteria they use to rank the students. I understand it is based entirely on academic merit (rather than for example the merits of the supervisor or the desirability of having more students in a certain area of mathematics).