Mark Chaplain
Mark Andrew Joseph Chaplain is a British mathematician and mathematical biologist. Since 2015 he has held the Gregory Chair of Applied Mathematics at the University of St Andrews. He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Edinburgh and a member of The European Academy of Sciences.
Education
Chaplain obtained a BSc with 1st-class honours in Applied Mathematics in 1986 from the University of Dundee. In 1990, also at the University of Dundee, he was awarded a PhD for the thesis "Mathematical Models for the Growth of Solid Tumours and the Tip Morphogenesis in Acetabularia" supervised by Brian D. Sleeman.Research and career
Following his PhD in 1990, Chaplain worked at the University of Bath until 1996. He then held the Ivory Chair of Applied Mathematics at the University of Dundee from 1996 to 2015. Chaplain currently holds the Gregory Chair of Applied Mathematics at the University of St Andrews.Chaplain's primary area of research focuses on modeling cancer growth, particularly through a systems approach that involves developing quantitative and predictive multiscale mathematical models. This approach, known as "Systems Oncology", has evolved into a distinct field of research.
Since 2012 Chaplain and to date is the co-chief editor of the Journal of Theoretical Biology. He serves on the editorial boards of many other scientific journals.
Awards and honours
Chaplain was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2003 and member of The European Academy of Sciences in 2024. He was also awarded the Whitehead Prize of The London Mathematical Society for research work on the mathematical modelling of cancer growth in 2000. The impact of his work in his and neighbouring research fields, as well as an indication of potential wider societal impact, can be read from the official citation of that award:Chaplain has served on the board of the European Society for Mathematical and Theoretical Biology and of the Society for Mathematical Biology, of which he was president 2005–2007. He was president of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society from 2011 to 2013.
Chaplain was awarded the Lee Segel Best Paper Prize in 2015 and in 2023 for the best paper appearing in the Bulletin of Mathematical Biology.