Assistant Professor

University of Florida

Meghan Ferrall-Fairbanks, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida (UF). Dr. Ferrall-Fairbanks received her Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering with a biomechanics minor from UF in 2012. She earned her Ph.D. in the joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University in 2017. Her dissertation research focused on integrating wet-lab experiments and computational methods to tease apart complex enzyme-on-enzyme interactions in proteolytic networks up-regulated in tissue destructive diseases. Following her time in Atlanta, Dr. Ferrall-Fairbanks was an Applied Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Integrated Mathematical Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. Her research at Moffitt focused on using mathematical modeling to study single-cell heterogeneity and clonal dynamics in cancer; while there she worked on multi-disciplinary projects, with modelers, basic scientists, and clinicians addressing top questions in cancer research. Dr. Ferrall-Fairbanks’ current research focuses on using quantitative biology approaches to cultivate a mechanistic understanding of tumor heterogeneity and evolution to optimize cancer treatment strategies. Ecology and evolutionary forces in cancer allows a tumor to alter its growth and metastasis. The Battling Evolution through Adaptive Therapies (BEAT) Cancer Lab integrates computational, mathematical, and wet-lab experimental techniques to investigate tumor heterogeneity at the molecular, tissue, and systems levels.