Personal webpage: http://www.exeter.ac.uk/davidrichards/

Research

I am a senior lecturer in Physics based in the Living Systems Institute at the University of Exeter. My research uses a combination of mathematical modelling, computer simulation and experimental work to study various biological and medical processes. This typically involves using a combination of dynamical systems, reaction-diffusion equations, spatio-temporal modelling, numerical simulation, machine learning and image analysis. Currently my group is working on the following projects:

• Target shape dependence during phagocytosis
• Computer simulations of early embryogenesis
• Machine learning of microglial state
• Understanding the growth of filamentous fungi
• The role of calcium in Candida albicans
• The dynamics of peroxisome shape
• Automatic detection and classification of dung beetles
• Plant response to phytopathogens

Background

After an undergraduate in physics, I studied for a masters in mathematics (both at the University of Cambridge). My PhD was in string theory and was based at DAMTP in Cambridge. I then spent a year teaching at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in Cape Town, before switching fields to mathematical and computational biology. This included post-docs at the John Innes Centre in Norwich and Imperial College London, before my current position at the University of Exeter.

Possible PhD projects

Some examples of possible PhD project ideas:

• Simulations of early embryogenesis
• Mathematical modelling of cell shape across organisms
• Models of engulfment during phagocytosis
• Simulations of the dynamics of peroxisome shape
• Quantitative understanding of the plant response to fungal attack
• Machine learning to identify microglial state
• Image analysis of filamentous fungi

Group

My group currently includes:

• Peyman Shadmani - post-doc - working on "Mathematical models of the mammalian embryo"
• Alaina Cockerell - PhD student - working on "Simulation of human blastocyst development"
• Sophie Nye - PhD student - working on understanding and modelling fungal growth
• Millicent Opoku - PhD student based in Ghana - working on "How the human embryo develops: combining mathematical modelling and data science"
• Amber Connerton - PhD student - working on "The role of Rho GTPases in plant immunity"
• Victoria Armer - PhD student - working on "Exploring communication mechanisms between fungal pathogens and plant cells"