Professor Rachel Bearon

Professor Rachel Bearon joined King’s College London in Jan 2024 as Executive Dean of the Faculty of NMES, and Professor of Mathematical Biology. As Executive Dean, she provides overall leadership to the Faculty, and is a member of the University Executive.

Her research focuses on applying mathematics to the spatial and temporal dynamics of biological systems, ranging from bacterial chemotaxis, cancer cell motility and phytoplankton in turbulence, to cell-signalling pathways, intracellular protein dynamics and drug transport.

Rachel studied for her undergraduate and PhD degrees in mathematics at the University of Cambridge. This was followed by post-doctoral research in the department of Biological Oceanography at the University of Washington, Seattle. From 2005-2023 she progressed from Lecturer through to Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Liverpool, serving as Head of Department from 2020.

She is a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and its applications (IMA), where she has been on its council (2017-23). She is a Trustee of the Academy for Mathematical Sciences, and currently serves on the Executive Committee for its set-up phase where she leads the communication and advocacy workstream. 

Research

• Spatial and temporal dynamics of biological systems
• Mathematical models of cell movement (e.g. bacterial chemotaxis, cancer cells)
• Active Fluids
  (e.g. models of bacteria and phytoplankton in fluid flows)
• Systems biology (e.g. cell-signaling pathways)
• Quantitative systems pharmacology (e.g. in-silico models of drug transport)

Rachel applies mathematics to health challenges and fundamental questions that arise from research into biological systems. This has led to wide-ranging collaborations with experimentalists and modelers.  Rachel is also an Associate Member of the Royal Northern College of Music’s PRiSM Centre, a multidisciplinary research environment that brings together artists, scientists and researchers to cultivate connections and support the emergence of new knowledge.

Teaching

During her time at the University of Liverpool, Rachel contributed to a broad range of teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students, from the history of mathematics, to mathematics for engineers, to biological fluid mechanics, redeveloping materials and methods that strengthen research-led teaching. A passionate supporter of encouraging children and young people into STEM subjects, Rachel was the 2022 President of the Mathematics Section of the British Science Association and a Trustee of the University of Liverpool Maths School, the first specialist 16-19 Maths school in the North of England.