About me

Currently, I am a postdoc in the Evolutionary Dynamics group led by Benjamin Werner at the Centre for Cancer Genomics and Computational Biology, Barts Cancer Institute.

I obtained my PhD in mathematical biology from UCL in 2021, under the supervision of Prof. Karen Page. Prior to that I completed my MPhys in mathematical physics at the University of Edinburgh in 2016. You can see my CV here. I am broadly interested in using mathematical and computational methods to model biological and social systems, in particular evolutionary processes.

Research - Publications - Presentations - Teaching

Contact details

Barts Cancer Institute
Queen Mary, Univeristy of London
Charterhouse Square
London EC1M 6BQ

Email: j.renton [at] qmul.ac.uk

Research

My current research looks at somatic evolution in modular species, such as corals and seagrasses. To do this we employ multilevel population genetics models (see my Somatic Evolution Julia package).

My PhD research was focussed on evolutionary game theory, with applications to cancer evolution. Using the Voronoi tessellation model, I considered how the structure and dynamics of an epithelium affect the invasion probability of cooperative mutations.

Publications

1. Lei Yu, Jessie Renton, Agata Burian, Marina Khachaturyan, Jonne Kotta, John J. Stachowicz, Katherine DuBois, Iliana B. Baums, Benjamin Werner, Thorsten B. H. Reusch. Precise age estimation in clonal species using a somatic genetic clock. bioRxiv 2023.11.07.566010, 2023. (pdf and supplement).

2. Jessie Renton and Karen M. Page. Cooperative success in epithelial public goods games. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 528:110838, 2021 (pdf).

3. Jessie Renton and Karen M. Page. Evolution of cooperation in an epithelium. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 16:20180918, 2019 (pdf).

Presentations

• Sep. 2023. London Mathematical Biology Conference, UCL, UK. Talk.
• Jul. 2023. Society for Molecular Biology & Evolution, Ferrara, Italy. Poster.
• Sep. 2022. European Conference on Mathematical and Theoretical Biology, Heidelberg, Germany. Poster.
• Jul. 2022. Mathematical Models in Ecology and Evolution, University of Reading, Germany. Talk.
• Jul. 2022. SIAM Life Sciences, Pennsylvania, UK. Invited talk (online).
• Nov. 2020. London Mathematical Society Virtual Graduate Student Meeting. Talk.
• Jul. 2019. Society of Mathematical Biology, University of Montreal. Poster.
• Mar. 2019. Institute for the Physics of Living Systems meet-up, UCL, London, UK. Talk.
• Oct. 2018. Mathematics Postgraduate Seminar, UCL, London, UK. Talk.
• Jul. 2018. Mathematical Models in Ecology and Evolution, City University of London, UK. Poster.
• Apr. 2018. Mathematics Postgraduate Seminar, UCL, London, UK. Talk.

Teaching

At UCL I have taught first-year applied maths tutorials (2017-18) covering content from Applied Maths, Mathematical Methods I & II, and Newtonian Mechanics. I have also taught introductory python computer labs as part of Mathematical Methods I (2016-19). I have done marking for various courses including Biomathematics and Mathematical Methods I & II.