Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council for funding my PhD, and the Bristol Centre for Complexity Sciences (BCCS) for being the incubator for it. The wide breadth of different topics that I was taught, and the companionship of my peer cohort made the masters year a particularly enjoyable experience. Having the opportunity to move from a background of maths and physics to the world of computational biology is something I don’t take for granted.

A big thank you to my supervisor Professor Julian Gough. You have been kind, patient and encouraging, even when I was feeling defeated by this PhD. I’m also grateful to all the members of the Gough group who I have been lucky enough to get to know and learn from. You’re also to blame/thank for my hipster coffee habit, which continues to spiral out of control.

I would also like to thank Dr Oliver Ray for supervising me for the latter part of my PhD. Your guidance and interesting conversations have been much appreciated.

Huge thanks also to my current colleagues the Jean Golding Institute for Data Science. I’m so grateful for the friendly atmosphere of our team, and the things I’ve been able to learn through being part of it. Particular thanks to Professor Kate Robson-Brown and Patricia Holley for their support and understanding while I finished this PhD. I really couldn’t have done it without you! Even before I was part of the team, the Jean Golding Institute nurtured my interest in reproducible research and data science, by providing opportunities for continued learning and growing my confidence through the opportunities they offer. I’m now so pleased to be a part of the team and help other PhD students in the same way.

Outside of work, I am very lucky to have the most fantastic group of friends who have cooked me meals, listened to my woes, bought me a beer when I was skint, and just provided great company. Thank you SO much! Although she’ll never read this, I’d also like to thank a different type of friend - my dog Biscuit - for making me excited to get up every morning to see her sweet face, and for taking me for a walk every day.

To my family, especially my parents: I would never have thought I could finish this PhD if I didn’t have a lifetime of your encouragement behind me.

Finally, the biggest possible thanks to my husband Tom for being here for me throughout this long, long, LONG PhD. You helped me in so many ways to get through these years. And you’re my favourite!