Biography: Helen Byrne is a Professor of Mathematical Biology at the University of Oxford, with over 25 years’ experience of developing mathematical models of biomedical systems. She has played a significant role in defining the foundations for mathematical oncology, publishing pioneering work on multiscale and multiphase models of tumour growth and angiogenesis. She was awarded an Advanced Research Fellowship by the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (2000-2006) and the Society of Mathematical Biology’s Leah Edelstein-Keshet prize (2019), became an SMB Fellow in 2020, and received an honorary doctorate from Chalmers University in Sweden in June 2024, in recognition of her contributions to mathematical biology.  She now holds a joint appointment between the University of Oxford’s Mathematical Institute and the Oxford Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research.

Abstract for Lecture Series: The past twenty-five years have heralded an unparalleled increase in understanding of cancer biology. At the same time, mathematical modelling has emerged as a natural tool for unravelling the complex processes that contribute to the initiation and progression of tumours, for testing hypotheses about experimental and clinical observations, and assisting with the development of new approaches for improving cancer treatment. 

In this series of lectures, we will take a whistle-stop tour of mathematical oncology, highlighting the different approaches to mathematical modelling and the insights that they have generated. We will also look to the future, and consider how the field should adapt in a way that is meaningful for both bio-medical applications and mathematics.