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ProfessorBarbara Holland

Professor

Mathematics

Orcid identifier0000-0002-4628-7938 (opens in a new tab)⁠
  • Professor
    Mathematics
  • +61 3 6226 1990 (Work)
  • School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics, 460 Maths-Physics Building, Sandy Bay Campus, TAS

RESEARCH SUMMARy

Expertise

Phylogenetics
Mathematical biology
Evolutionary Biology

Research Themes

Barbara's main interests are in mathematical phylogenetics, which deals with the estimation of evolutionary trees (family trees for species). Molecular phylogenetics uses patterns in DNA sequence data to make inferences about how different species are related to each other and to uncover information about the processes of evolution. Statistical modelling of sequence data has many applications within health, agriculture and conservation.
Collaboration

Barbara’s international collaborators include David Liberles (Temple University), Vincent Moulton & Katharina Huber (University of East Anglia), Lars Jermiin (university College Dublin), Arndt von Haeseler (University of Vienna).

Within Australia she has collaborated with Andrew Francis (Western Sydney University), Nigel Bean, Jono Tuke and Stephen Crotty (University of Adelaide), David Lambert (Griffith)

At the University of Tasmania Barbara enjoys getting across Churchill Road to work with colleagues in Biological Sciences such as Bec Jones and Greg Jordan. In her own corridor her main collaborators are Jeremy Sumner, Malgorzata O’Reilly and Mike Charleston.
Awards

2010: ARC funded Future Fellowship
2008: New Zealand Mathematics Society Early Career Award
2005: Royal Society of New Zealand, Hamilton Award

Current projects

My current research interests include:

Phylogenetic approaches to associating genotype with phenotype
Stochastic models of gene family evolution
Stochastic models of gene network evolution, detecting homology between biological networks
Modelling convergent evolution

FUNDED PROJECTS

  • GRANT
    ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture
    22 Dec 2020 - 22 Dec 2027
    People funded by this grant:
    • Beveridge C,
    • Cooper M,
    • Brodribb T,
    • Bowman J,
    • Waterhouse P
    Project Total: $35,000,000; https://www.plantsuccess.org/ Funded by: Australian Research Council - Grant-ARC Centres of Excellence; University of Queensland; Monash University; Queensland University of Technology; Macquarie University; University of Tasmania ($2,275,000).
  • UTAS INTERNAL FUNDING
    Using the idea of multiple representations in mathematics and science classrooms
    13 Aug 2019 - 31 Dec 2019
    People funded by this grant:
    • Hatisaru V,
    • Fraser S,
    • Murphy C,
    • Oates G,
    • Kenny J
    Project Total: $500; Peer Learning Circles: Collaboration for Learning and Teaching Grant. Quality STEM education is touted as important to the nations productivity, and significant funding has been provided to education systems to enhance student learning in STEM. Effective STEM teaching practices provide opportunities for students to express concepts through multiple modes of representation to support concept development and deep learning. This PLC will review current teacher knowledge formulations in mathematics and science education including Shulmans Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), Ball and colleagues Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) and Rowland et al.s Knowledge Quartets to identify the space that we refer to as representational fluency. The PLC will enable members to reflect on their own understanding of the notion of representational fluency and how it pertains to STEM teaching, which will in turn inform their teaching practices. The process will provide a springboard for exploring how representational fluency, as part of teacher knowledge, predicts instructional quality and student learning outcomes. Funded by: University of Tasmania; University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    Creating new stochastic models to understand the evolution of gene families
    Australian Research Council1 Jul 2018 - 17 Sep 2023
    People funded by this grant:
    • Holland B,
    • O'Reilly M,
    • Liberles D,
    • Liu L
    Project Total: $317,329; Funded by: Australian Research Council - Grant-Discovery Projects ($317,329); University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    Reconstructing the evolution of climatic tolerances in conifers
    Australian Research Council1 Jun 2016 - 31 Dec 2019
    People funded by this grant:
    • Jordan G,
    • Holland B,
    • Anderegg W
    Project Total: $357,700; This project aims to trace the evolution of climate tolerance in conifers by combining evidence from fossils, phylogenies, physiology and mathematics. Innovative methods will be used to overcome significant biases in methods currently used to trace evolutionary change. The project will integrate data from three sources: 1) the global fossil record; 2) new models of current climatic tolerances of conifers; and 3) mathematical simulations of how and when methods of reconstructing ancestral ecology fail. The combined results should show how this important group of organisms has responded to past climate change and how they will respond in the future. It should also provide improved estimates of past terrestrial climates. Funded by: Australian Research Council - Grant-Discovery Projects ($357,700); University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    Algebraically informed models of biological sequence evolution
    Australian Research Council1 Jan 2015 - 9 Mar 2018
    People funded by this grant:
    • Holland B,
    • Sumner J,
    • Jarvis P
    Project Total: $310,700; To make sense of the patterns they see in the natural world, biologists across fields as diverse as genetics, epidemiology and biogeography need an accurate picture of evolutionary history. DNA sequences provide an exciting means to establish this picture of the past, but to decode it successfully requires mathematical models of how DNA evolves. Our team has identified mathematical inconsistencies with current approaches. In particular, understanding the effect of natural selection in different parts of the Tree of Life requires models that behave robustly in the face of shifting evolutionary processes. This project will use insights from algebraic methods to construct mathematically consistent models of wide biological utility. Funded by: Australian Research Council - Grant-Discovery Projects ($310,700); University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    Redesigning the introductory statistics classroom to the 'inverted' style to improve student experience and material retention
    Office for Learning & Teaching1 Aug 2013 - 1 Aug 2014
    People funded by this grant:
    • Karpievitch Y,
    • Holland B,
    • Chick H
    Project Total: $34,000; The goal of the project is to convert the flagship introductory statistics units to inverted-style. The specific aims are to: 1) develop and evaluate a teaching model for inverting an introductory statistics classroom by creating video lectures, online assessments, and interactive activities; 2) improve student experience in the introductory statistics unit and increase students' understanding and retention of material. Funded by: Office for Learning & Teaching - Grant-Seed ($34,000); University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    The 17th Annual New Zealand Phylogenomics Meeting
    University of Tasmania1 Jan 2013 - 31 Dec 2013
    People funded by this grant:
    • Holland B
    Project Total: $1,250; Funded by: University of Tasmania - Grant-Conference Support Scheme; University of Tasmania ($1,250).
  • GRANT
    Ancient Ibis Mummies from Egypt: DNA Evolution - Math Modelling
    International Human Frontier Science Program Organization1 Nov 2011 - 31 Oct 2015
    People funded by this grant:
    • Lambert,
    • Holland B,
    • Ikram S
    Project Total: $1,231,450; Funded by: International Human Frontier Science Program Organization - Grant-Program; University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    Increasing Bioinformatics capability across UTas
    University of Tasmania1 Oct 2011 - 31 Dec 2012
    People funded by this grant:
    • Holland B
    Project Total: $5,000; Funded by: University of Tasmania - Grant-Research Enhancement (REGS); University of Tasmania ($5,000).
  • GRANT
    How Will Animals Respond to Climate Change? A Genomic Approach
    Australian Research Council1 Jul 2011 - 31 Dec 2014
    People funded by this grant:
    • Lambert,
    • Holland B
    Project Total: $875,998; Funded by: Australian Research Council - Grant-Linkage Projects Round 2; University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    Phylogenetics: Mathematics, Models and Applications - UK, 2011
    University of Tasmania20 Jun 2011 - 24 Jun 2011
    People funded by this grant:
    • Holland B
    Project Total: $1,200; Funded by: University of Tasmania - Grant-Conference Support Scheme; University of Tasmania ($1,200).
  • GRANT
    Interpreting biological sequence information: untangling hybridisation
    Australian Research Council1 Jan 2011 - 1 Jan 2017
    People funded by this grant:
    • Holland B
    Project Total: $532,376; Hybrid evolution plays a key role in speciation and adaptation, especially in plants. Hybrid species inherit genetic material from two parent species, making them hard to detect by studying single genes. Fortunately, innovations in DNA sequencing now make it affordable to study many genes simultaneously. Current methods for studying hybridisation assume that evolutionary relationships inferred for different genes are error-free, and all conflict is attributed to hybridisation. However, in reality conflict is often caused by estimation errors, the random nature of inheritance within populations, and missing data. This project will develop the computational tools necessary to analyse next generation sequence data to untangle hybrid evolution. Funded by: Australian Research Council - Fellowship-Future ($532,376); University of Tasmania.
  • GRANT
    NARGS - Recovering complex evolutionary histories with censored data
    University of Tasmania1 Dec 2010 - 1 Dec 2012
    People funded by this grant:
    • Holland B
    Project Total: $5,000; Funded by: University of Tasmania - Grant-New Appointees Research Grant Scheme (NARGS); University of Tasmania ($5,000).