Matthew Simpson
Executive Committee
Deputy Director (Translation)
Professor Matthew Simpson is an internationally recognised leader in mathematical biology, and he holds position as Professor of applied mathematics and Queensland University of Technology.
Professor Simpson’s research experience in mathematical biology has led to more than 200 journal articles covering both theoretical and practical aspects of mathematical biology. This research includes the development of new mathematical theory and methodologies, as well as deploying these theoretical tools to interrogate and understand various biological phenomena, often focusing on population-level biological systems ranging from development to tissue repair phenomena.
As Editor-in-Chief of the Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, Professor Simpson leads the main publication associated with the international Society for Mathematical Biology, and he is Deputy Chair of ANZIAM, which is a Division of the Australian Mathematical Society whose members are interested in applied mathematics, research in applied mathematics and tertiary mathematics education.
Traude Beilharz
Executive Committee
Deputy Director (Operations)
Professor Traude Beilharz is an RNA biologist and biochemist with interests that span the birth, life and death of RNA in cells as they adapt to change. MACSYS combines her love of collaboration, data-driven research and the cell biology of Baker’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Traude believes that the skills learned and the tools built in pursuit of whole-cell models will enable a new academic discipline -Predictive Biology- and create career paths toward research and entrepreneurship in digital biology.
As Deputy Director (Operations), Traude enables excellence by supporting the thriving of the Centre’s diversity. She applies her mindset and leadership coaching qualifications to support MACSYS people so that each feels safe to bring their ideas, creativity and ambition -knowing that this looks different in each of us and that the Centre’s success depends on it.
Adelle Coster
Executive Committee
Deputy Director (Research)
Professor Adelle Coster is a Professor in Applied Mathematics with long-standing research collaborations both nationally and internationally with leading medical research institutes and universities.
Professor Coster has previously served on the Academic Board of UNSW Sydney for a decade (2004-14) and subsequently as Deputy Head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics (2019-20). Since 2020 Professor Coster has served as Head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics at UNSW Sydney. She is also a Past-President of the Australian Society for Biophysics and an editor of Mathematical Biosciences (Elsevier).
Professor Coster uses dynamical systems, stochastic modelling, and queueing theory to develop mathematical models and solutions to real world problems – largely in the areas of medicine and biology. She uses hypothesis and data-driven approaches to build quantitative mathematical models of the processes driving change in the systems under investigation. The models are then systematically analysed, perturbed, optimised and refined to best represent the known characteristics of the system. She draws on her biophysical knowledge of the specific biology and experimental techniques to ensure that the mathematical models are indeed biologically realistic, rather than simply biologically inspired.
Michael Stumpf
Executive Committee
Director
Professor Michael Stumpf is a well-known physicist and applied mathematician. He is an internationally recognised leader in theoretical and systems biology, with expertise across mathematical, statistical, and biological research.
Professor Stumpf’s research focuses on developing mathematical and computational models to understand complex biological systems, with a particular emphasis on the immune system and infectious diseases. He has also worked on a range of other interdisciplinary topics, such as network science, statistical physics, and computational neuroscience.
Professor Stumpf has published over 100 research papers in peer-reviewed journals and has been awarded several prestigious honours for his work, including the Philip Leverhulme Prize in 2007 and the Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award in 2012. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics.
Emily Duane
Executive Committee
Chief Operating Officer
Dr Emily Duane is the Centre’s Chief Operating Officer. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Science (Honours) and a PhD in Operations Research, all from The University of Melbourne.
During her PhD she developed novel mathematical solution algorithms for automatic scheduling of cranes at seaport container terminals. Her work provided new insights into the creation of cost effective schedules for this operationally complex problem and will guide future algorithm development in this area.
Since 2003 Emily has worked in various university administrative roles, and was Chief Operating Officer of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers.
Emily appreciates and understands the fundamental importance of the mathematical sciences, and is passionate about supporting and promoting the mathematical sciences in Australia.