Mae Woods

Dr. Mae Louise Woods, PhD MRes

Principal Software Developer | Computational Biologist & Bioinformatics Expert

🔬 Key Expertise & Technical Skills

Core Domains: Statistics, Data Orchestration, Databases, GenAI, Cell & Gene Therapy, Immunotherapy, Single Cell Technology, Machine Learning, Biomechanics & Mathematical Modelling.
Languages & Frameworks: Python, C++, CUDA, R, Go & SQL.

🎬 Computational Models & Visualizations

Discrete Element Model (DEM)	Keller-Segel Chemoattraction	Cell Tracking Analysis

Discrete element model predicting velocity and movement of self-propelled particles using CUDA GPU acceleration.	Numerical solution of Keller-Segel partial differential equations for chemoattraction in 2D cell populations.	False-color rendering showing high-throughput cell tracking results on fluorescent nuclei staining.

💼 Work Experience

Principal Software Developer

Oxford Biomedica (OXB) | May 2025 – Present

Leading software development, scientific programming, and data orchestration.

Postdoctoral Associate

Baylor College of Medicine & Texas Children’s Hospital | June 2020 – April 2025
Supervisor: Prof. Malcolm Brenner (Department of Cell and Gene Therapy)

Developed bioinformatics pipelines for 10X Genomics spatial & single-cell RNA sequencing with VDJ enrichment to identify TCR sequences for neoantigen-specific T-cell therapies.
Provided statistical analysis for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) clinical cohorts (dbGAP Accession No.: phs000159.v11.p5).
Managed Bioinformatics Analysts and mentored summer students.

Postdoctoral Fellow

University of Houston / University of Pennsylvania | May 2018 – June 2020
Supervisor: Dr. Alexander Stewart

Developed mathematical models of evolutionary biology to study structural variation in the human genome.

Research Associate

University College London (UCL) | Oct 2013 – May 2018
Supervisor: Prof. Chris Barnes (Cell & Developmental Biology)

Advanced theoretical mathematical model building, Bayesian inference, and statistical physics for DNA double-strand break repair and synthetic gene networks.

Research Scientist (Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis)

Public Health England & LSHTM | Feb 2013 – Oct 2013

Developed decision support tools for environmental health hazard risk prioritization in UK cities.

🎓 Qualifications & Education

Ph.D. Biomechanics — University College London (UCL), Feb 2014
Thesis: “Modelling Collective Cell Migration of the Neural Crest”
MRes Modelling Biological Complexity (Distinction) — University College London (UCL), 2009
BSc (Hons) Mathematics (1st Class) — King’s College London, 2008

🏆 Awards, Outreach & Funding

2023: 3rd place presentation award, Cell and Gene Therapy Conference, TX, USA.
2023: Alex’s Lemonade Stand grant to attend Cancer Data Lab single-cell course.
2022: Breakout session lead & moderator for BCM Graduate School Careers Events.
2016: Featured on EMERALD GPU supercomputer case study.
2016: ASBMB Postdoctoral Travel Award ($1,000) for ASBMB/EB2016, San Diego, CA.
2014: Featured on NVIDIA’s Women Who CUDA.
2011: NIMBioS Research Associate Award (CompuCell3D course, Univ. of Tennessee).
2010: Bogue Research Fellowship for 3-month research visit to Prof. Iain Couzin’s lab at Princeton University.
2008: Layton Science Research Award & J G Semple Prize for Best Project (King’s College London).
Academic Reviewer: Science, Clinical Immunology, Frontiers in Immunology, Molecular Therapy.

📚 Selected Publications

M. Woods, S. Sharma, P. Shafer, N. Crooks, R. Fracasso, V. Hoyos, M. K. Brenner, C. Rooney. Identification of genes to predict optimal T cell receptor function in single cells. In preparation (2026).
C. H. Li, S. Sharma, A. A. Heczey, M. L. Woods, D. H. M. Steffin, C. U. Louis, B. J. Grilley, S. G. Thakkar, M. Wu, T. Wang, C. M. Rooney, M. K. Brenner, H. E. Heslop. Long-term outcomes of GD2-directed CAR-T cell therapy in patients with neuroblastoma. Nature Medicine (2025).
G. Biegert, A. Rosewell Shaw, D. Morita, C. Porter, L. Jatta, N. Crooks, M. Woods, Q. Cathy Yao, R. Parihar, M. Suzuki. Oncolytic Adeno-immunotherapy Improves “Off-The-Shelf” Adoptive HER2.CAR-NK Function against Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Molecular Therapy Oncology (2025).
R. Ma, M. Woods, N. Crooks, P. Burkhardt, D. van Leeuwen, D. Shmidt, A. Chaumette, D. Popat, A. Carisey, M. K. Brenner, M. Mamonkin. CAR-induced Antigen Loss Protects CD5-Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cells from Fratricide Without Compromising On-target Cytotoxicity. Cell Reports Medicine (2024).
P. Shafer, W. Leung, M. Woods, J. M. Choi, C. Rodriguez-Plata, A. Ali, A. Mosquera, L. Somes, J. Joubert, A. Manliguez, R. Ranjan, B. Burt, H. Lee, B. Zhang, S. Fuqua, C. Rooney, A. Leen, V. Hoyos. Identification of T cell receptors recognizing ESR1 Y537S and D538G hotspot mutations. Cytotherapy (2024).
M. Woods, C. P. Barnes, I. D. Couzin, R. Mayor, K. M. Page. Directional Collective Cell Migration Emerges as a property of cell interactions. PLoS ONE (2014).