Steve Haigh

Computational biology, viewed from a 30-year software career.

Software developer of 30 years, now researching biomedical sciences at the University of Reading — extending the wcEcoli whole-cell framework to the first computational model of a human platelet.

Two stacked line charts from a platelet simulation run over 600 seconds. Top chart: the share of activated integrin receptors — the sticky surface molecules platelets use to clump together and form clots — holds near zero for about 300 seconds, then climbs steeply in an S-shaped curve to a high, steady level; a grey reference line settles slightly higher than the purple main line, and a faint dotted line traces a smaller, short-lived trigger signal that rises then fades. Bottom chart: a molecular brake that normally dampens activation stays flat at its resting level, then temporarily swells to a peak around the 370-second mark before easing back down, plotted against a flat baseline for comparison. — Fig. 1 — Integrin αIIbβ3 activation and its cAMP/PKA brake. plot: demo_integrin.py · seed 0 · 600 s

§01 Current focus

whole_cell_model

Extending wcEcoli to build the first computational model of a human platelet.

sim_infra

Containerised pipelines and interactive browser-based UIs for high-dimensional output.

eng_x_bio

Software-engineering discipline brought to computational-biology workflows.

§02 Now — updated Jun 2026

Starting on a draft of my dissertation… which means work avoidance and too much time playing with this site. When I focus, I'm finalising figures and weighing whether to add more biology to the model before calling it done.

§03 Latest post

2026-05-27

How do LLMs work? — a shallow-dive for scientists

A short overview of LLMs I gave at lab meeting — what they are, how they got here, and where they’re useful or dangerous in a research workflow.

[llms] [ai] [decks] [lab]

$ cd ~/life