Camilla Sih Mai Pang (born February 1992) is a British computational biologist,[2] writer, and autism advocate. In 2020, she was awarded the Royal Society Prize for Science Books for her memoir, Explaining Humans: What Science Can Teach Us about Life, Love and Relationships.[3]

Camilla Pang
Born
Camilla Sih Mai Pang

February 1992 (age 32)
Other namesMillie Pang
EducationWycliffe College, Gloucestershire
Alma materUniversity of Bristol (BSc)
University College London (PhD)
AwardsRoyal Society Prize for Science Books (2020)
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity College London
ThesisDeveloping a computational approach to investigate the impacts of disease-causing mutations on protein function. (2018)
Doctoral advisorChristine Orengo[1]
Websitewww.camillapang.com Edit this at Wikidata

Early life and education

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Pang has said that she was not a typical child, and evaluated her early friendships in terms of computer code.[4] At the age of eight Pang was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, and asked her mother whether there was an instruction manual for life.[5][6] Pang attended Wycliffe College, Gloucestershire.[7] She studied mathematics, physics, biology and art for GCE Advanced Level.[7] Pang joined the University of Bristol as an undergraduate student, where she specialised in biochemistry. She earned a PhD in computational biology at University College London where her research was supervised by Christine Orengo.[1][8][9][10]

Career

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After earning her doctorate, Pang joined a pharmaceutical company[clarification needed] as a postdoctoral researcher.[11] Her research considers the computational model of disease in an effort to identify new pharmaceutical options for neurological diseases.[12]

In 2020 Pang released her first book, Explaining Humans: What Science Can Teach Us about Life, Love and Relationships.[3] The book explores what it means to be human, discussing social etiquette, relationships and perfectionism.[3]

Alongside her scientific research, Pang looks to inspire young people to study science.[13] She has spoken openly about her neurodiversity, and campaigned for increased awareness of autism amongst young women.[12][14]

Awards and honours

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Pang was awarded the Royal Society Prize for Science Books in 2020[15][16] for her memoir Explaining Humans: What Science Can Teach Us about Life, Love and Relationships.[3]

Personal life

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At the age of twenty six, Pang was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b Pang, Camilla Sih Mai (2018). Developing a computational approach to investigate the impacts of disease-causing mutations on protein function. ucl.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University College London. OCLC 1063745930. EThOS uk.bl.ethos.747644.  
  2. ^ Camilla Pang publications from Europe PubMed Central
  3. ^ a b c d Pang, Camilla (2020). Explaining humans : what science can teach us about life, love and relationships. London: Viking. ISBN 978-0-241-40960-2. OCLC 1143733972.
  4. ^ Hewitson, Jessie. "Explaining Humans by Camilla Pang review — 'a stranger in my own species'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  5. ^ Commons, Jess (19 February 2018). "How Autism Helped Me Understand The Human Brain". refinery29.com. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  6. ^ "The Artists of Data Science - Camilla Pang, PhD". theartistsofdatascience.fireside.fm. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Dr Camilla Pang (IG 2005 – 2010)". wycliffe.co.uk. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  8. ^ Ashford, Paul; Pang, Camilla S. M.; Moya-García, Aurelio A.; Adeyelu, Tolulope; Orengo, Christine A. (2019). "A CATH domain functional family based approach to identify putative cancer driver genes and driver mutations". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 263. Bibcode:2019NatSR...9..263A. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-36401-4. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 6343001. PMID 30670742.
  9. ^ Patani, Harshnira; Bunney, Tom D.; Thiyagarajan, Nethaji; Norman, Richard A.; Ogg, Derek; Breed, Jason; Ashford, Paul; Potterton, Andrew; Edwards, Mina; Williams, Sarah V.; Thomson, Gary S.; Pang, Camilla S.M.; Knowles, Margaret A.; Breeze, Alexander L.; Orengo, Christine; Phillips, Chris; Katan, Matilda (2016). "Landscape of activating cancer mutations in FGFR kinases and their differential responses to inhibitors in clinical use". Oncotarget. 7 (17): 24252–24268. doi:10.18632/oncotarget.8132. ISSN 1949-2553. PMC 5029699. PMID 26992226.
  10. ^ Lam, S. D.; Bordin, N.; Waman, V. P.; Scholes, H. M.; Ashford, P.; Sen, N.; van Dorp, L.; Rauer, C.; Dawson, N. L.; Pang, C. S. M.; Abbasian, M.; Sillitoe, I.; Edwards, S. J. L.; Fraternali, F.; Lees, J. G.; Santini, J. M.; Orengo, C. A. (2020). "SARS-CoV-2 spike protein predicted to form complexes with host receptor protein orthologues from a broad range of mammals". Scientific Reports. 10 (1): 16471. Bibcode:2020NatSR..1016471L. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-71936-5. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 7536205. PMID 33020502.
  11. ^ "Camilla". lightyearfoundation.org. Lightyear Foundation. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  12. ^ a b "The way people process information can change day to day, which can feel creative, but also chaotic". autism.org.uk. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  13. ^ team, Code8. "Camilla Pang". Peters Fraser and Dunlop (PFD) Literary Agents. Retrieved 3 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "Explaining Humans w/ Dr. Camilla Pang". FUTURES Podcast. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  15. ^ "Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize | Royal Society". royalsociety.org. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  16. ^ Anon (2020). "Explaining Humans". royalsociety.org. Royal Society. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  17. ^ "Camilla Pang on how science guides her life". BBC Science Focus Magazine. Retrieved 3 November 2020.