Home / Directory / Hannah Highlander

Hannah Highlander

Mathematics, Associate Dean for Students, Professor

Biology, Professor

Email:

Phone:
503.943.7162

Address:
Buckley Center 201

Title IX Responsible Employee

Title IX Responsible Employees are required to report Title IX information to the Title IX Office. See our resources page for more information.

About

Professor Hannah Highlander teaches a wide range of courses in the mathematics department, with a focus on topics in applied mathematics. Some of her more common courses include Calculus, Biocalculus, Differential Equations, Real Analysis, and Industrial Mathematics Internship. In addition to teaching, one of her main passions is mentoring undergraduate students in research, primarily in the area of mathematical biology.

Before arriving at the University of Portland in 2009, she worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications at the University of Minnesota. She earned a B.A. in Mathematics with minors in Computer Science and Music from Wesleyan college, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Mathematics with an emphasis in Mathematical Biology from Vanderbilt University. She is on the editorial board for Spora, A Journal of Biomathematics and Letters in Biomathematics and is a faculty fellow for the Intercollegiate Biomathematics Alliance. Her primary research interests include mathematical modeling of cellular and molecular processes and infectious diseases, sensitivity analysis, agent-based modeling, and mathematical and quantitative biology education. She has published articles in a variety of academic journals, including PLoS One, Analytical Chemistry, Journal of Theoretical Biology, Journal of Biological Dynamics, Involve, Physiological Measurement, Journal of Engineering Education, Letters in Biomathematics, Spora, CBE Life Sciences, International Journal of Biomathematics, and Primus. She has also coauthored three book chapters related to modeling infectious diseases on contact networks.

Professor Highlander is originally from Halls, Tennessee, and though she spent a large portion of her life in the south, she is happy to call Portland home. When she is not on campus, you might find her strumming away on the guitar, cruising down the slopes on Mt. Hood, working on her latest DIY house project, or crafting an epic Lego masterpiece with her son.