I am a PhD Student in the Biophysics Program at Harvard. I am jointly enrolled in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP) at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technolgy (HST). I work at the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics under the supervision of Martin Nowak.

Office @ the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics
1 Brattle Sq, Room 638
Cambridge MA, 02138 [map]

Email: alhill at fas dot harvard dot edu

Current Research

I study viral dynamics. I use mathematical models to understand mechanisms of disease spread (within and between hosts), pathogenesis, and evolution. Most of my research focuses on HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Questions I'm interested in include: What properties of antiretroviral therapy determine efficacy? When is drug resistance likely to emerge ? What are the dynamics of the reservoir of latently infected cells that sustain infection even with potent drugs? What are the mechanisms of CD4 T cell decline? What is the role of immune activation in viral pathogenesis?

Models and mechanisms for understanding viral dynamics are increasingly finding applications outside traditional virology. They can be used to study the dynamics of behaviors, to help predict and interevene in their spread. Previous projects I've worked on have applied infectious disease models to social contagion.

In the past I've used mathematical models to understand how our body maintains iron homeostasis and how cyanobacteria, the first multi-cellular organism, create a precise pattern of differentiated cells. I also spent a few years studying MRI and researching techniques to use nanoparticles to image specific molecular targets.

Education

2007 - Present : PhD Candidate, Biophysics Program, Harvard University

2003-2007 : BS, Physics. Queen's University, Canada.

Publications

1. Thankachan P, Kalasurmath S, Hill AL, Thomas T, Bhat K, Kurpad AV (2011) A mathematical model for the hemoglobin response to iron intake, based on iron absorption measurements from habitually consumed Indian meals. Eur J Clin Nutr. In Press.


2. Hill AL, Rand DG, Nowak MA, Christakis NC (2010) Infectious disease modeling of social contagion in networks. PLoS Computational Biology, 6 (11). (Full Text)
   
   
3. Hill AL*, Rand DG*, Nowak MA, Christakis NC (2010) Emotions as infectious diseases in a large social network: the SISa model. Proc Roy Soc B, 277 (1701). (Full Text)


4. Aptekar JW, Cassidy MC, Johnson AC, Barton RA, Lee M, Ogier AC, Vo C, Anahtar MN, Ren Y, Bhatia SN, Ramanathan C, Cory DG, Hill AL, Mair RW, Rosen MS, Walsworth RL and Marcus CM (2009) Silicon nanoparticles as hyperpolarized magnetic resonance imaging agents. ACS Nano. 3 (12), 4003- 4008. (PDF)


5. Allard JF, Hill AL, Rutenburg AD (2007) Heterocyst pattern without patterning proteins in cyanobacterial filaments. Developmental Biology, 312 427-434. (PDF)
   

Extracurricular Activities

Physical Sciences 2 (Mechanics, Elasticity, Fluids, Diffusion) - Teaching Assistant
Math 153 (Mathematical Biology - Evolutionary Dynamics) - Supervised student research projects
Mount Auburn Hospital - Introduction to Clinical Medicine - clerkship for PhD students
Dudley House (the graduate student center) - social coordinator
Harvard GSAS Science Policy Group - executive member
Harvard GSAS Canadian Club - Governor General

Collaborators

Daniel Rosenbloom, David Rand, Nicholas Christakis, Bob Siliciano, Ali Rabi, Pan-Pan Jiang, Anura Kurpad, Prashanth Thankachan, Ron Walsworth, Chris Bowen, Steven Beyea, Andrew Rutenberg