Kit Yates

I'm a Professor of Mathematical Biology and Public Engagement and also an author.

In my first book, the Maths of Life and Death (https://amzn.to/2MkmdcM) I explore the true stories of life-changing events in which the application (or misapplication) of mathematics has played a critical role: patients crippled by faulty genes and entrepreneurs bankrupt by faulty algorithms; innocent victims of miscarriages of justice and the unwitting victims of software glitches.

My second book How to Expect the Unexpected (https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Expect-Unexpected-Science-Predictions/dp/B0BN4GRW5Y) is about predicting the future. "Ever since the dawn of human civilisation, we have been trying to make predictions about what’s in store for us. We do this on a personal level, so that we can get on with our lives efficiently (should I hang my
laundry out to dry, or will it rain?). But we also have to predict on a much larger scale, often for the good of our broader society (how can we spot economic downturns or prevent terrorist attacks?)."

For my day job I work on a diverse range of areas of Biology in which randomness plays an important role.

I have studied the migration behaviours of cells in order to understand early embryonic diseases and the collective behaviour of locusts in order to help prevent outbreaks. I have worked to understand how ants make their descisions as a group and modelled how parasites can effectively evade the immune system.

I have developed frameworks for better representing evolutionary game theory and tools for tracking the movement patterns of bacteria. I have even tried to demonstrate how birds' eggs and zebrafish get their beautiful patterns.

Who knew that Maths could be so useful?