Dr Robert Noble
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About
Overview
Dr Robert Noble uses mathematical and computational models to investigate the evolution and ecology of cancer, in collaboration with experimental biologists and clinicians.
Dr Noble obtained a DPhil in Zoology from the University of Oxford in 2014, with a thesis on mathematical modelling of infectious disease. He then held postdoctoral research positions in mathematical oncology at the Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (2014-2017), ETH Zurich (2017-2020), and the University of Zurich (2018-2020). He joined City as a Lecturer in July 2020 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in August 2024.
Qualifications
- Advance HE fellowship, Advance HE, United Kingdom, June 2024
- DPhil, University of Oxford, United Kingdom, October 2009 - January 2014
- MMath, University of York, United Kingdom, October 1999 - July 2003
Employment
- Senior Lecturer in Applied Mathematics, City, University of London, United Kingdom, August 2024 - present
- Lecturer in Applied Mathematics, City, University London, United Kingdom, July 2020 - July 2024
- Postdoctoral researcher, University of Zurich, Switzerland, May 2018 - June 2020
- Postdoctoral researcher, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, February 2017 - June 2020
- Postdoctoral researcher, Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier, France, January 2014 - January 2017
Research students
Kate Bostock
Attendance: October 2024 - September 2028, full-time
Thesis title: Informing the design of cancer clinical trials through mathematical modelling, preclinical data analyis and machine learning
Role: 1st Supervisor
Alexandru Chitiga
Attendance: July 2024 - June 2028, full-time
Thesis title: Describing and predicting evolution using universal tree shape indices
Role: 1st Supervisor
Kimberley Verity
Attendance: October 2022 - September 2026, full-time
Thesis title: Mathematical theory of tumour evolutionary modes
Role: 1st Supervisor
Blair Colyer
Attendance: July 2021 - June 2025, full-time
Thesis title: Combined Bayesian And Theoretical Analysis of Cancer Treatment Strategies and Incidence Data
Role: 1st Supervisor
Further information: Coauthor of "Warlock: an automated computational workflow for simulating spatially structured tumour evolution" arXiv 2301.07808 (2023)
Veselin Manojlovic
Attendance: September 2020 - May 2024, full-time
Thesis title: Mathematical Classification of the Modes of Tumour Evolution
Role: 1st Supervisor
Further information: Coauthor of "Robust, Universal Tree Balance Indices" Systematic Biology 71;1210–1224 (2022) Coauthor of "Warlock: an automated computational workflow for simulating spatially structured tumour evolution" arXiv 2301.07808 (2023) Awarded nine-month Enrichment Scheme placement at the Alan Turing Institute
Publications
Publications by category
Conference papers and proceedings (2)
- Isabelle, P.L.O., Tisserand, A., Noble, R., Dagher, T., Maslah, N., Mosca, M.... Vainchenker, W. INVESTIGATING THE MECHANISMS OF IFNALPHA THERAPY IN JAK2V617F AND CALR MUTATED MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS. .
- Tisserand, A., Noble, R., Mosca, M., Marzac, C., Vertenoeil, G., Campario, H.... Plo, I. Predicting the Long-Term Efficacy of Ifnα in JAK2V617F and Calr-Mutated MPN Patients. .doi:10.1182/blood-2019-127903
Journal articles (21)
- Thomas, F., M. Dujon, A., Marusyk, A., DeGregori, J., Fontanella, A., Bieuville, M.... Gatenby, R. (2026). When effective anticancer therapies are, in fact, destabilizing the tumor’s Group Phenotypic Composition. npj Precision Oncology. doi:10.1038/s41698-026-01536-5
- Stein, A., Bostock, K., Kizhuttil, R., Bak, M. and Noble, R. (2026). Selective sweep probabilities in spatially expanding populations. Nature Communications, 17(1). doi:10.1038/s41467-026-69363-7
- Patil, S., Ahmed, A., Viossat, Y. and Noble, R. (2026). Preventing evolutionary rescue in cancer using two-strike therapy. GENETICS, 232(2). doi:10.1093/genetics/iyaf255
- Colyer, B., Bak, M., Basanta, D. and Noble, R. (2024). A seven‐step guide to spatial, agent‐based modelling of tumour evolution. Evolutionary Applications, 17(5). doi:10.1111/eva.13687
- West, J., Adler, F., Gallaher, J., Strobl, M., Brady-Nicholls, R., Brown, J.... Anderson, A.R.A. (2023). A survey of open questions in adaptive therapy: Bridging mathematics and clinical translation. eLife, 12. doi:10.7554/elife.84263
- Lemant, J., Le Sueur, C., Manojlović, V. and Noble, R. (2022). Robust, Universal Tree Balance Indices. Systematic Biology, 71(5), pp. 1210-1224. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syac027
- Noble, R., Burri, D., Le Sueur, C., Lemant, J., Viossat, Y., Kather, J.N.... Beerenwinkel, N. (2021). Spatial structure governs the mode of tumour evolution. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 6(2), pp. 207-217. doi:10.1038/s41559-021-01615-9
- Mosca, M., Hermange, G., Tisserand, A., Noble, R., Marzac, C., Marty, C.... Plo, I. (2021). Inferring the dynamics of mutated hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells induced by IFNα in myeloproliferative neoplasms. Blood, 138(22), pp. 2231-2243. doi:10.1182/blood.2021010986
- Kuosmanen, T., Cairns, J., Noble, R., Beerenwinkel, N., Mononen, T. and Mustonen, V. (2021). Drug-induced resistance evolution necessitates less aggressive treatment. PLOS Computational Biology, 17(9), pp. e1009418-e1009418. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009418
- Noble, R.J., Walther, V., Roumestand, C., Hochberg, M.E., Hibner, U. and Lassus, P. (2021). Paracrine Behaviors Arbitrate Parasite-Like Interactions Between Tumor Subclones. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9. doi:10.3389/fevo.2021.675638
- Viossat, Y. and Noble, R. (2021). A theoretical analysis of tumour containment. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 5(6), pp. 826-835. doi:10.1038/s41559-021-01428-w
- Dujon, A.M., Aktipis, A., Alix‐Panabières, C., Amend, S.R., Boddy, A.M., Brown, J.S.... Ujvari, B. (2021). Identifying key questions in the ecology and evolution of cancer. Evolutionary Applications, 14(4), pp. 877-892. doi:10.1111/eva.13190
- Noble, R., Burley, J.T., Le Sueur, C. and Hochberg, M.E. (2020). When, why and how tumour clonal diversity predicts survival. Evolutionary Applications, 13(7), pp. 1558-1568. doi:10.1111/eva.13057
- Bacevic, K., Noble, R., Soffar, A., Wael Ammar, O., Boszonyik, B., Prieto, S.... Fisher, D. (2017). Spatial competition constrains resistance to targeted cancer therapy. Nature Communications, 8(1). doi:10.1038/s41467-017-01516-1
- Hochberg, M.E. and Noble, R.J. (2017). A framework for how environment contributes to cancer risk. Ecology Letters, 20(2), pp. 117-134. doi:10.1111/ele.12726
- Vasse, M., Noble, R.J., Akhmetzhanov, A.R., Torres-Barceló, C., Gurney, J., Benateau, S.... Hochberg, M.E. (2017). Antibiotic stress selects against cooperation in the pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(3), pp. 546-551. doi:10.1073/pnas.1612522114
- Noble, R., Kaltz, O., Nunney, L. and Hochberg, M.E. (2016). Overestimating the role of environment in cancers. Cancer Prevention Research, 9(10), pp. 773-776. doi:10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-16-0126
- Noble, R., Kaltz, O. and Hochberg, M.E. (2015). Peto's paradox and human cancers. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 370(1673), pp. 20150104-20150104. doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0104
- Noble, R., Christodoulou, Z., Kyes, S., Pinches, R., Newbold, C.I. and Recker, M. (2013). The antigenic switching network of Plasmodium falciparum and its implications for the immuno-epidemiology of malaria. eLife, 2. doi:10.7554/elife.01074
- Noble, R. and Recker, M. (2012). A Statistically Rigorous Method for Determining Antigenic Switching Networks. PLoS ONE, 7(6), pp. e39335-e39335. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0039335
- Fastman, Y., Noble, R., Recker, M. and Dzikowski, R. (2012). Erasing the Epigenetic Memory and Beginning to Switch—The Onset of Antigenic Switching of var Genes in Plasmodium falciparum. PLoS ONE, 7(3), pp. e34168-e34168. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0034168
Working papers (2)
- Manojlovic, V., Gabbutt, C., Shibata, D. and Noble, R.J. (2026). Fluctuating DNA methylation sites encode colorectal tumour growth history.
- Noble, R., Kaltz, O. and Hochberg, M.E. Statistical interpretations and new findings on Variation in Cancer Risk Among Tissues.