Juliet Ming Jiang

Academic Interests

Mathematics, Biomedical Engineering, & Computer Science

Fun Fact

I trained competitively as a rhythmic gymnast for over 10 years.

The ability to rewrite our universe in a language that we understand is extremely powerful. Since high school, I have been interested in mathematical modeling, particularly of biological processes and diseases. With strong applications in engineering as well, I’ve found it to be a balance between the abstract and the physical. Double majoring in Math and BME has allowed me to awe at the truths, beauty, and other virtues of mathematics set in our world while aiding the humans who struggle to live in it. As a proponent of exploration and creation, I believe these subjects, along with computer science, are some of the broadest yet impactful disciplines when wielded properly. 

At Duke, I am in a research group studying a computational causal model that describes cascading biomarker accumulation, a leading theory behind Alzhiemer’s disease. We hope to eventually support digital clinical trials by studying therapeutics on personalized disease trajectories. I also participated in DoMath, a Duke summer program, to model evaporation and particle deposition in a microscale membrane pore. With many material-related applications in industrial and medical fields as well, I learned to use partial and stochastic differential equations to translate physical processes in porous media. Moreover, I am a member of the Randles Lab studying patient-specific hemodynamic response to various disease conditions with large-scale parallel computing and computational fluid dynamic modeling. For the summer of 2023, I was an intern at Moderna, working on in silico fragmentation of mRNA cap oligonucleotides and their impurities. I am very passionate about research and hope to attend graduate school. Using the skills I’ve developed in these experiences, I plan to entire the computational neuroscience field in the future.

Besides research, I am a co-president of the Duke University Math Union, an active member of the Society of Women Engineers, and a part of the Association for Women in Mathematics. Much of my time is also spent dancing with the Defining Movement, where my love for contemporary and jazz styles can thrive. Outside of academics and dance, I also enjoy playing the piano, baking, listening to music, and watching Studio Ghibli movies.

What do you like about being a SPIRE Fellow?

Being a SPIRE fellow has been the greatest opportunity to pursue exploration and knowledge. Whether this is learning about oneself through understanding identity, others through inclusivity and community, or new avenues through the multiple pillars of support the program offers, I am further motivated to journey forward with SPIRE as a constant on my path. You are given chances to meet people of the same interests who can offer advice and understanding, and they are the biggest advocate for your education and wellbeing.