Mathematical biology is the use of mathematical models and concepts to help understand the biological world and the processes of disease. As of today, it is one of the fastest growing research areas in mathematics. Mariel Vazquez is a mathematical biologist and specializes in the applications of topological methods and computational tools to the study of DNA rearrangements, DNA and protein interactions, and DNA packing. Born and raised in Mexico to engineer parents and grandparents, Vazquez became passionate about math at an early age. Later, in high school, molecular biology became one of her favorite subjects as working with DNA and learning about how proteins work and cells grow fascinated her. Nevertheless, her interest for pure mathematics
