Profile
Victoria Cox
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About Me:
I’m a research scientist and I study infectious diseases and global health. My main interests are diseases which are spread to humans by mosquitoes and vaccination.
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Hi! I’m Victoria. I’m a researcher studying infectious diseases using mathematical models. I’m originally from Leicestershire and now I live in London where I work at a university.
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My Work:
I’m an infectious disease researcher! I study disease outbreaks, especially diseases spread to humans from mosquitoes. I use a combination of maths, biology, and computer science to do this.
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I use code to make models (computer simulations) of how a virus called dengue virus is spread. This helps me learn how different things affect how much the virus spreads, and where in the world it spreads the most. We can use what we learn to predict where the virus will spread in the future and how we can try to stop this.
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My Typical Day:
After a couple of coffees and breakfast in the morning I sit down at my computer to work. I read scientific papers, write code, look at data and make graphs – I really liking making maps to visualise data. I have meetings with my supervisor and other team members where they suggest cool new ideas to try if I’m stuck on something! I always talk to other scientists at work to find out what exciting things they are working on.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
Make video profiles of scientists talking about their jobs and how they use science/maths/ICT to show school students, particularly young girls, what exciting jobs you can do if you continue studying these subjects at A-level and beyond.
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Education:
I went to Redmoor High School and John Cleveland College in Leicestershire. I did my undergraduate degree at the University of Oxford and my PhD at Imperial College London.
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Qualifications:
8 GCSEs and 1 BTEC at middle school then at sixth-form I did Biology, Maths and Chemistry A levels and Anthropology and Psychology AS levels. I did biochemistry at university and then a Master’s degree and PhD in infectious disease epidemiology.
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Work History:
When I was younger I had part-time jobs as a cleaner, waitress and shop-assistant. After university I worked on summer schools helping students from state schools to apply to top universities. More recently I worked as a research assistant studying malaria and how we can reduce its spread. Now I work as a researcher at Imperial College London.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
epidemiologist and modeler
What did you want to be after you left school?
A forensic scientist
Who is your favourite singer or band?
The Arctic Monkeys
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
To speak more languages, be faster at running, and more comfortable taking risks
Tell us a joke.
I wanted to write a joke about elements of the periodic table ... but all the good ones Argon
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