Jessica Mar

Professor Jessica Mar is a Professorial Research Fellow at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) at the University of Queensland. Her research focuses on developing bioinformatics methods to understand regulatory processes in human diseases, particularly leveraging single-cell RNA-sequencing to analyze cellular heterogeneity in contexts like cancer, aging, and stem cell biology. Key areas include modeling gene expression variability, analyzing transcriptomic data, and developing statistical frameworks for omics integration. She has led projects funded by grants such as the Georgina Sweet Award and ARC Future Fellowships.

Her work spans computational approaches to cancer heterogeneity, senescence mechanisms in stem cells, and the impact of senolytic therapies on aging. Recent studies include applications of single-cell technologies to brain organoids and breast cancer metastasis. Awards include recognition for contributions to quantitative biomedical science and stem cell research. She collaborates widely, mentoring students in computational biology, stem cell biology, and systems biology.

Publications highlight her contributions to understanding tumor heterogeneity, epigenetic dynamics, and the interplay between mechanics and cell reprogramming. Her lab’s work integrates machine learning with experimental biology, addressing challenges in data analysis for single-cell and spatial omics. Current projects include biomarker discovery for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and developing optimal transport models for cancer progression analysis.