AV¶ÌÊÓƵ

After obtaining an engineering degree from the French School of Statistics and Information Analysis (ENSAI), I completed a PhD in Mathematics at the AV¶ÌÊÓƵ of Exeter, United Kingdom. While I appreciated the theoretical depth and intellectual challenge of mathematics, I also developed a growing interest in applying these skills to biomedical research, where I could contribute directly to understanding and improving human health.

I joined the team of Professor Richard Oram, a clinician specializing in Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), where we combined our expertise to develop predictive models for T1D. Our work was recognized among the top 10 genetic discoveries of 2021 by the American Journal of Human Genetics, and I was recently awarded a Rising Star presentation at IDS 2024.

I have recently joined the laboratory of Professor Timothy Frayling, where I am further developing my expertise in genetics and working under his mentorship to progress towards an independent research career.

Research Aims

50% of my time is dedicated to working on the link between genetic variants and common metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and related conditions. We use UK Biobank and All of Us datasets to robustly identify and validate rare variants linked to disease development. I co-supervise PhD student Yuqiu Zhou, with Prof. Frayling, on her work on the link between type 1 and type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

As Director of Statistics for the CDGG team, I am responsible for ensuring robust statistical approaches are applied by the team and that these approaches lead to reproducible research findings.

The other 50% of my time is dedicated to Type 1 diabetes. I combine genetic, environmental, and clinical risk factors to develop predictive models and identify optimal screening strategies to detect disease progression before onset. My main collaborators are Prof. Richard Oram, Erin Templeman (PhD candidate), and Gonçalo Leiria.

I am also a co-investigator on a project led by Prof. Emily Sims on the risk and screening of Type 1 Diabetes in adulthood, kindly sponsored by the Helmsley Charitable Trust. Additionally, I am a co-investigator on a project led by Prof. McQueen on the cost-effectiveness of type 1 screening, kindly sponsored by Breakthrough T1D, and I am leading a project to apply screening optimization to Switzerland.

I was recently awarded funds from Breakthrough T1D to study the impact of non-immune genetic traits on T1D progression. I supervise Ishani Sharma with Prof. Frayling and Prof. Oram (AV¶ÌÊÓƵ of Exeter).