Jacob Marsh
Senior Research Officer
PhD, BSc (Hons)
jacob.marsh@thekids.org.au
Dr. Jacob I. Marsh is an evolutionary biologist with population simulation and modelling expertise. His background is in theoretical and applied population genetics, along with bioinformatics and software development. With diverse research experience a common thread in his work is the development of scientific software that seeks to improve the accessibility of complex analysis pipelines to end users from varied technical backgrounds.
Prior to joining The Kids, Jacob held a postdoctoral position at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA) (2023-2025). His work included benchmarking historical population size inference methods, establishing best practices for rescaling forward-in-time population genetic (individual-based) simulations, and the development of software which implements mathematical expressions for estimating expected diversity in genomes under selection. Jacob obtained his PhD from the University of Western Australia, specializing in the bioinformatics analysis of crop genomes and statistical software development.
Currently, Jacob is involved in projects funded by the Gates Foundation which seek to optimize and apply mathematical and statistical methodologies to understand contemporary evidence for malaria dynamics and support model development. This work involves supporting improvements to malaria simulation software (OpenMalaria), including model calibration, and the development of new model components to better estimate the burden of malaria in a rapidly evolving landscape of malaria control and population immunity.
Education and Qualifications
- 2023: PhD in Plant Sciences, University of Western Australia in Perth, Australia
- 2018: BSc in Genetics (Honours), University of Western Australia in Perth, Australia