Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/ National Institutes of Health (NIDDK)

Mathematical Analysts/Guest Researcher in Computational Biology

What is your educational background?

B.S. in Mathematics Spelman College, Atlanta, GA. MAEd in Mathematics Virginia State University, Elkridge, VA.  M.S. in Mathematics Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.  Ph.D. in Computational Biology (work in progress).

What is the best part of what you do?

Being able to apply my mathematical knowledge, and problem solving abilities to real world type scenarios.  My work at JHUAPL and NIH allows me to do work on two completely different tasks.  One allows me to apply mathematics to system testing and evaluation in Undersea Warfare, while another allows me to use mathematical models to study the mechanisms of oscillatory electrical activity arising from ion channels in cell membranes and modulated by intracellular chemical processes.

Why do you like mathematics and/or statistics?

I like the breadth of knowledge that can be gained.  I like the rush you get of figuring out how to solve that problem you once thought was impossible.  I like that math challenges you to think analytically and beyond the normal scope of thinking.  I like that mathematics teaches you to explore other angles and possibilities that your brain otherwise may not be trained to do.  I like that no matter what is going on around you, how somehow you can almost always make it mathematical.

What resources have helped you?

There are a wide group of resources that have been helpful.  The ones that are most helpful are other colleagues and professors, in particular my research advisor.  Other resources that have been helpful are textbooks, lecture notes, professional papers and publications, and occasionally the internet.  Being able to use mathematical software such as MATLAB, MAPLE, XPPAUT, programming in C++ or FORTRAN has also proven to be very helpful in many of the computations that I do daily and weekly.  LATEX has also been quite a lifesaver when writing up papers or when preparing for a conference or presentation.

What do you like to do for fun?

For fun, I like to hang out with close friends and family, traveling, reading a book, listening to my IPOD, and watching movies.   Just spending quality time with friends and family is important to me and so makes it tons of fun.

What was the best piece of advice you received?

Math isn't hard, or impossible.  Math is challenging and can be difficult, but with dedication and developing your own learning style, math can be mastered.

What do most people not know about mathematics/mathematicians?

We're not all geeks who sit around number crunching or staring at a computer all day.  Being a mathematician can be fun.