Gerda de Vries is a Canadian mathematician whose research interests include

dynamical system In mathematics, a dynamical system is a system in which a function describes the time dependence of a point in an ambient space. Examples include the mathematical models that describe the swinging of a clock pendulum, the flow of water i ...

s and

mathematical physiology Mathematical physiology is an interdisciplinary science. Primarily, it investigates ways in which mathematics may be used to give insight into physiological questions. In turn, it also describes how physiological questions can lead to new mathemati ...

. She is a professor of mathematical and statistical sciences at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Ruth ...

, and the former president of the Society for Mathematical Biology.

Education and career

De Vries graduated from the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to "Uptown" Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates ...

in 1989, and completed her doctorate in 1995 at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

. Her dissertation, ''Analysis of Models of Bursting Electrical Activity in Pancreatic Beta Cells'', was supervised by Robert M. Miura. After postdoctoral research with Arthur Sherman at the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U ...

, she joined the University of Alberta faculty in 1998. She was promoted to full professor in 2008.

Publications

De Vries has published highly-cited research on

beta cell Beta cells (β-cells) are a type of cell found in pancreatic islets that synthesize and secrete insulin and amylin. Beta cells make up 50–70% of the cells in human islets. In patients with Type 1 diabetes, beta-cell mass and function are dim ...

s and

beta-actin Beta-actin (human gene and protein abbreviation ''ACTB''/ACTB) is one of six different actin isoforms which have been identified in humans. This is one of the two nonmuscle cytoskeletal actins. Actins are highly conserved proteins that are invol ...

. With Thomas Hillen,

Mark A. Lewis Mark Alun Lewis (born 7 December 1962) is a professor and Canada Research Chair of mathematical biology in the University of Alberta Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences and Department of Biological Sciences. Among other topics, h ...

, Johannes Müller, and Birgitt Schönfisch, she is also the author of a 2006 textbook, ''A Course in Mathematical Biology: Quantitative Modeling with Mathematical and Computational Methods''.

Recognition and service

De Vries served as president of the Society for Mathematical Biology for 2011–2013, and became a fellow of the society in 2017. In 2014 the

Canadian Mathematical Society The Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS) (french: Société mathématique du Canada) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research, outreach, scholarship and education in Canada. It serves the ...

gave de Vries their excellence in teaching award. The society listed de Vries in their inaugural class of fellows in 2018.

References

External links

Home page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:De Vries, Gerda Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian mathematicians Canadian women mathematicians University of Waterloo alumni University of British Columbia alumni Academic staff of the University of Alberta Fellows of the Canadian Mathematical Society