John Marshall, PhD

Address: Division of Biology, Mail Code 156-29, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125
Phone: +1-626-395-6451, Fax: +1-626-449-0756, Email: johnmm@caltech.edu

Profile

 

Mathematical biologist with strong quantitative skills and multi-disciplinary background in laser physics, genetics, ecology and disease dynamics. More recent experience in public surveys and policy analysis. Excellent communication skills from years as an editor and freelance journalist. International work experience in the United States, New Zealand and Mali, West Africa.

 

Work Experience

 

2009 (July-):
Postdoctoral scholar
Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology

·         Developing mathematical models for gene drive, mosquito dispersal and vector-borne disease epidemiology

·         Developing skills in molecular biology

 

2009 (January-June):
Postdoctoral fellow
Center for Society and Genetics, UCLA

·         Analyzed surveys on the perspectives of people in Mali, West Africa to genetically modified mosquitoes for malaria control

·         Analyzed international regulations for the environmental release of genetically modified mosquitoes

·         Published in peer-reviewed journals

·         Lectured a class in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology entitled “Genetic engineering in developing countries”


2008 (July-December):
Postdoctoral researcher
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCLA
Based at: Malaria Research and Training Center, University of Bamako, Mali

·         Led a research team surveying the perspectives of people in Mali, West Africa to genetically modified mosquitoes for malaria control

·         Participated in ecological studies of mosquito dispersal

·         Developed mathematical models to understand mosquito dispersal

·         Published in peer-reviewed journals

·         Lectured and helped organize a workshop sponsored by the World Health Organization to develop a regulatory framework for the release of genetically modified mosquitoes in Africa


2001 (January-December):
Editor
Craccum magazine, Auckland University Students’ Association, New Zealand

·         Edited a 48-page weekly magazine for students at Auckland University

·         Managed a staff of ~30 writers, photographers, distributors, designers, webmasters and advertising managers

·         Wrote weekly editorials and regular feature articles

·         Developed excellent skills in written and verbal communication, leadership and time management


1999-2009:
Freelance journalist
New Zealand: Black, The Listener, Craccum, Salient, Lucid, Chaff
Los Angeles: The Daily Bruin, Fem, Ten Percent

·         Contribute regular columns and feature articles

·         Experience in research and conducting interviews

 

Education


2003-2008:
PhD (Biomathematics)
MS (Biomathematics)
University of California at Los Angeles
PhD thesis: The dynamics of transposable elements in genetically modified mosquito vectors

2000-2002:
BTech (Hons) (Optoelectronics)
University of Auckland, New Zealand
Honors thesis: Fluorescence lifetime measurements of EGFP-EBFP protein dimers

1997-1999:
BSc (Biological sciences)
University of Auckland, New Zealand 
 

Personal Skills and Competences

 
Languages:

·         English (mother tongue)

·         French (intermediate)

·         Bambara (intermediate)

Organizational and leadership skills acquired through:

·         Working as editor of New Zealand’s largest student magazine

·         Managing a staff of ~30 magazine employees

·         Designing research protocols

·         Leading a multi-disciplinary team in conducting public surveys in Mali

Communication skills acquired through:

·         Publishing research findings in international peer-reviewed journals

·         Presenting research findings at international scientific conferences

·         Lecturing classes and workshops at universities

·         Working as a freelance journalist and magazine editor

Teaching skills acquired through:

·         Lecturing and serving as a teacher’s assistant for classes in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCLA

·         Lecturing and helping to organize a workshop at the University of Bamako, Mali

·         Tutoring high school students in mathematics and physics

 

 

Technical Skills and Competences

Mathematics:

·         Multivariate calculus, linear algebra, vector calculus

·         Systems of ordinary differential equations

·         Probability theory, Markov chains, branching processes

·         Partial differential equations, reaction-diffusion systems

·         Applications to physics, genetics, ecology and epidemiology

Statistics:

·         Regression, maximum likelihood estimation, generalized linear models

·         Principal components analysis, bootstrapping

·         Bayesian analysis

·         Applications to medical data and population genetics

Physics:

·         Newtonian mechanics, waves, special relativity

·         Quantum mechanics, nonlinear Schrodinger equation, laser physics

·         Electromagnetism, Maxwell’s equations, electrical engineering

Software and programming:

·         Mathematics: Matlab, Mathematica, Maple

·         Statistics: Winbugs, R

·         Programming languages: C++, Java

Awards and Scholarships


2009: UCLA Society and Genetics Postdoctoral Fellowship

2008: William C. Reeves New Investigator Award

2007-2008: UCLA Dissertation Year Fellowship

2004: Santa Fe Institute Complex Systems Summer School

2003-2005: Department of Biomathematics Scholarship

2003-2006: Edward and Isabel Kidson Scholarship

2003: New Zealand Knowledge Wave Conference Future Leader

2002: Faculty of Science Summer Research Scholarship

2002: Senior Prize in Mathematics

2001: Senior Prize in Physics

2001: Royal Society of New Zealand Science Communication Fellowship

Grants

National Institutes of Health #1R56AI072549-01A1/C. E. Taylor (Contributor)
Dynamics of Transposable Elements in Mosquito Vectors
2007-2009

Publications


Marshall, J. M., M. B. Touré, M. M. Traore, S. Famenini, and C. E. Taylor, 2009 (Under review) Perspectives of people in Mali, West Africa toward genetically modified mosquitoes for malaria control.

Marshall, J. M., and C. E. Taylor, 2009 Malaria control with transgenic mosquitoes. PLoS Medicine 6: e1000020.

Marshall, J. M., 2009 The effect of gene drive on containment of transgenic mosquitoes. J. Theor. Biol. 258: 250-265.

Taylor, C. E., and J. M. Marshall, 2009 (Under review) Genetically modified mosquitoes and the Concorde: Time for a reevaluation?

Marshall, J. M., 2008 The dynamics of transposable elements in genetically modified mosquito vectors (PhD thesis). University of California, Los Angeles.

Marshall, J. M., 2008 A branching process model for the early spread of a transposable element in a diploid population. J. Math. Biol. 57: 811-840.

Marshall, J. M., 2008 The impact of dissociation on transposon-mediated disease control strategies. Genetics 178: 1673-1682.

Marshall, J. M., K. Morikawa, N. Manoukis, and C. E. Taylor, 2007 Predicting the effectiveness of population replacement strategy using mathematical modeling. J. Vis. Exp. 5: 227.

Marshall, J. M., and R. Weiss, 2006 A Bayesian heterogeneous analysis of variance approach to inferring recent selective sweeps. Genetics 173: 2357-2370.

Wills, P., J. Marshall, and P. Smith, 2004 Genetic information and self-organised criticality. Europhysics Letters 68: 901-907.

Marshall, J. M. and S. Coxall-Jones, 2002 Fluorescence lifetime measurements of EGFP-EBFP protein dimmers (Honors thesis). University of Auckland, New Zealand. 

Talks

 

Marshall, J. M., 2009 GM mosquitoes for malaria control: Perspectives of people in Mali, West Africa to a transgenic release. Contributed talk at:

·         the Center for Society and Genetics, UCLA, Los Angeles, California

·         the Malaria Research and Training Center, Bamako, Mali

·         the 4rd International Meeting on Molecular and Population Biology of Mosquitoes and Other Disease Vectors, Kolymbari, Greece


Marshall, J. M., 2009 Releasing GM mosquitoes: Insights from mathematics and Malians. Contributed talk at:

·         the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College, London, England

·         the Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California

 

Marshall, J. M., 2008 Modelling the potential outcomes of releasing GM mosquito vectors. Contributed talk at:

·         the Malaria Research and Training Center, Bamako, Mali

·         the Department of Mathematics, University of Bamako, Bamako, Mali

·         the 57th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygeine, New Orleans, Louisiana

 

Marshall, J. M., 2007 The impact of dissociation on transposon-mediated disease control strategies. Contributed talk at:

·         the 3rd International Meeting on Molecular and Population Biology of Mosquitoes and Other Disease Vectors, Kolymbari, Greece

·         the Workshop for Young Researchers in Mathematical Biology, Columbus, Ohio

·         the 76th Annual Conference of the Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California, Palm Springs, California

 

Marshall, J. M., 2006 Successful conditions for the early spread of a transposable element in a disease vector population. Contributed talk at the 55th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Atlanta, Georgia.

Marshall, J. M., 2005 The dynamics of transposable elements in genetically modified mosquito vectors. Contributed talk at the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics Biophysical Modeling Workshop, Los Angeles, California.

Marshall, J. M., and R. Weiss, 2005 A Bayesian approach to inferring recent selective sweeps in Anopholes gambiae populations. Contributed talk at the 2nd International Meeting on Molecular and Population Biology of Mosquitoes and Other Disease Vectors, Kolymbari, Greece.

 

 

Referees


Professor Charles E. Taylor
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCLA
Email: taylor@biology.ucla.edu
Phone: +1-310-825-6850
Fax: +1-310-206-3987

Associate Professor Tom Chou
Departments of Biomathematics and Mathematics, UCLA
Email: tomchou@ucla.edu
Phone: +1-310-206-2787
Fax: +1-310-825-8685

Associate Professor Bruce A. Hay
Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology
Email: haybruce@caltech.edu
Phone: +1-626-395-3399
Fax: +1-626-449-0756