Alexander, Helen

ETH Zürich Helen Alexander Institut f. Integrative Biologie CHN H.74 Universitätstrasse 16 8092 Zürich Phone: +41 44 633 92 52 Fax: +41 44 632 12 71 E-Mail:

Research Interests

Broadly, I am interested in the evolution of pathogens and how this contributes to disease at the within- and between-host levels. I use mathematical modelling to investigate questions in this area. Currently I am studying the course of within-host disease (particularly HIV) and how mutants arise, with a view to the emergence of drug resistance. I plan later to link this to the epidemiological scale with a model for transmission. I am also interested in early events involved in the establishment of a new within-host infection.

Short CV

• 2010-present: PhD student with Dr. Sebastian Bonhoeffer, ETH Zurich
• 2010: MSc, supervised by Dr. Troy Day. Thesis: "Modelling Pathogen Evolution with Branching Processes"
• 2008-2010: Master's studies, Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada
• 2008: BSc (Hon) Applied Mathematics, minor in Medical Science. Honours thesis with Dr. Lindi Wahl, "Self-Tolerance and Autoimmunity in a Regulatory T Cell Model"
• 2007: NSERC (Canada) Undergraduate Summer Research Award with Dr. Lindi Wahl, UWO
• 2006: Summer student in Dr. Marek Los's laboratory, Manitoba Institute of Cell Biology, Winnipeg, Canada
• 2004-2008: Undergraduate studies, University of Western Ontario (UWO), London, Canada
• 2004: High school diploma, Winnipeg, Canada
• 2003-2005: Summer student/research assistant Dr. Grant Pierce's laboratory (cell biology), St. Boniface Research Centre, Winnipeg, Canada

Publications

• Alexander HK (2011). "Conditional distributions and waiting times in multi-type branching processes", submitted.
• Alexander HK, Wahl LM (2011). "Self-tolerance and autoimmunity in a regulatory T cell model", Bulletin of Mathematical Biology 73(1):33-71.
• Alexander HK, Day T (2010). "Risk factors for the evolutionary emergence of pathogens", Journal of the Royal Society Interface 7(51):1455-1474.
• Alexander HK, Wahl LM (2008). "Fixation probabilities depend on life history: fecundity, generation time and survival in a burst-death model", Evolution 62(7):1600-1609.
• Dupasquier CMC, Dibrov E, Kneesh AL, Cheung PKM, Lee KGY, Alexander HK, Yeganeh BK, Moghadasian MH, Pierce GN (2007). "Dietary flaxseed inhibits atherosclerosis in the LDL receptor-deficient mouse in part through antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory actions", American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology 293:H2394-H2402.
• Alexander HK*, Booy EP*, Xiao WY, Ezzati P, Baust H, Los M (2007). "Selected technologies to control genes and their products for experimental and clinical purposes", Archivum Immunologiae et Therapiae Experimentalis 55(3):139-149. (*joint first authors)