Lisette G. de Pillis is the Norman F. Sprague Jr. Professor of Life Sciences and Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College. An internationally recognized leader in mathematical biology, her research bridges mathematics, biology and medicine to develop mathematical models that improve our understanding of complex diseases and inform new therapeutic strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After earning her Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles, de Pillis joined the Harvey Mudd faculty, where her research evolved from computational fluid dynamics and scientific computing to mathematical oncology, immunology and infectious disease modeling. Today, she collaborates with mathematicians, biologists, physicians and biomedical researchers to study cancer, Type 1 diabetes, SARS-CoV-2 and other immune-related diseases. Her work combines mathematical modeling, computation and data-driven approaches to investigate tumor-immune interactions, immunotherapies, combination therapies and personalized treatment strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
De Pillis has played a central role in developing Harvey Mudd’s interdisciplinary mathematical biology program and has mentored generations of undergraduate researchers, many of whom have gone on to careers in academia, medicine, biotechnology and industry. She is widely recognized for creating meaningful research opportunities for undergraduate students, who have often become coauthors on her scholarly publications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beyond her research, de Pillis has provided extensive academic leadership at Harvey Mudd College. She served as chair of the Department of Mathematics from 2014\u20132019 (following an earlier term as chair), directed the Harvey Mudd Global Clinic Program from 2009\u20132014, has served on both the Faculty Executive Committee and the Reappointment Promotion and Tenure Committee, and is co-director of the Harvey Mudd Center for Quantitative Life Sciences. She is also an accomplished speaker, educator and advocate for interdisciplinary collaboration in the mathematical sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her contributions have earned numerous honors. She was selected as the Maria Goeppert-Mayer Distinguished Scholar at Argonne National Laboratory, becoming the first recipient from an undergraduate institution and only the second mathematician to receive that distinction. She was elected a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society in recognition of her contributions to mathematical oncology and immunology, leadership in mathematical biology education and service to the mathematical community. She also received the Mathematical Association of America’s Southern California\u2013Nevada Section Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics and was named an Intercollegiate Biomathematics Alliance Distinguished Fellow for her outstanding achievements in research, mentoring and leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n