Trachette Levon Jackson (born July 24, 1972) is an American mathematician who is a professor of mathematics at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and is known for work in mathematical

oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's Etymology, etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγ ...

. She uses many different approaches, including continuous and discrete mathematical models, numerical simulations, and experiments to study tumor growth and treatment. Specifically, her lab is interested in " molecular pathways associated with intratumoral

angiogenesis Angiogenesis is the physiological process through which new blood vessels form from pre-existing vessels, formed in the earlier stage of vasculogenesis. Angiogenesis continues the growth of the vasculature mainly by processes of sprouting and ...

," "cell-tissue interactions associated with tumor-induced angiogenesis," and "tumor

heterogeneity Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts relating to the uniformity of a substance, process or image. A homogeneous feature is uniform in composition or character (i.e., color, shape, size, weight, height, distribution, texture, language, i ...

and cancer stem cells."

Education and career

Jackson's parents were in the military and traveled frequently through her childhood; as a teenager, she lived in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The population was 504,258 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Arizona, third-most populous city in Arizona, after Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, T ...

. There, in a summer calculus course, her talent for mathematics brought her to the attention of

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

mathematics professor Joaquín Bustoz, Jr. She went on to undergraduate studies at ASU, originally intending to study engineering, but she was steered to mathematics by Bustoz. From there, her interest in pure math developed into an interest in

mathematical biology Mathematical and theoretical biology, or biomathematics, is a branch of biology which employs theoretical analysis, mathematical models and abstractions of living organisms to investigate the principles that govern the structure, development ...

when she attended a talk by her future PhD advisor,

James D. Murray James Dickson Murray FRSE FRS, (born 2 January 1931) is professor emeritus of applied mathematics at University of Washington and University of Oxford. He is best known for his authoritative and extensive work entitled ''Mathematical Biology''. ...

, on the mathematics of pattern formation and "how the leopard got its spots." She graduated in 1994, and she earned her MS and PhD at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

in 1996 and 1998. After postdoctoral research at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency may refer to the following government organizations: * Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland), Australia * Environmental Protection Agency (Ghana) * Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) * Environmenta ...

, and

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

, she joined the University of Michigan faculty in 2000, and she was promoted to full professor in 2008.

Awards and recognition

She was awarded a

Sloan Research Fellowship The Sloan Research Fellowships are awarded annually by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation since 1955 to "provide support and recognition to early-career scientists and scholars". This program is one of the oldest of its kind in the United States. ...

in 2003, becoming the second African-American woman after Kathleen Adebola Okikiolu to become a Sloan Fellow in mathematics. She won a James S. McDonnell 21st Century Scientist Grant in 2005, and won the Blackwell-Tapia Prize in 2010. In 2017, she was selected as a fellow of the

Association for Women in Mathematics The Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) is a professional society whose mission is to encourage women and girls to study and to have active careers in the mathematical sciences, and to promote equal opportunity for and the equal treatment o ...

in the inaugural class. Jackson's work also earned her recognition by

Mathematically Gifted & Black Mathematically Gifted & Black (MGB) is a website that features the accomplishments of black scholars in mathematical sciences. In addition to highlighting the work and lives of established mathematicians in the African Diaspora, the platform aims ...

as a Black History Month 2017 Honoree. She was named a

SIAM Fellow The SIAM Fellowship is an award and fellowship that recognizes outstanding members of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). The goal of the program is to: *honor SIAM members who are recognized by their peers as distinguishe ...

in the 2021 class of fellows, "for innovative contributions to mathematical modeling in cancer biology and for the advancement of underrepresented minorities in science". In 2021, she was awarded the University Diversity and Social Transformation Professorship at the University of Michigan, in recognition of her "extraordinary commitment to increasing opportunities for girls, women, and underrepresented minority students in

STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

, through her teaching and leadership."

References

External links

*
Meet a mathematician! Video Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Trachette 21st-century American mathematicians American theoretical biologists Arizona State University alumni University of Washington alumni University of Michigan faculty African-American mathematicians African-American women mathematicians Living people 1972 births Sloan Research Fellows Fellows of the Association for Women in Mathematics Fellows of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics 21st-century American women mathematicians 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women