Principal Investigator

Neda Bagheri, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Biology
Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering
Washington Research Foundation Distinguished Investigator
University of Washington

Senior Advisor of Modeling, Dissemination, & Alliances
Allen Institute for Cell Science

Adjunct Associate Professor of Chemical & Biological Engineering
Northwestern University

Mailing Address
University of Washington, Life Sciences Building 561
W Stevens Way NE
Seattle, WA 98195

Assistant Scientific Director

Dr. Jessica S. Yu

Consultant at Allen Institute for Cell Science

B.S. Chemical Engineering, Northwestern University
M.S. Biotechnology, Northwestern University
Ph.D. Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University

Thesis: Multi-Scale, Multi-Class Agent-Based Models of Biological Systems

Graduate Students

Narasimhan Balakrishnan

Ph.D. candidate, Chemical & Biological Engineering

B.S. Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
Joined September 2015

Research Keywords	circadian rhythms, multiscale modeling, control theory
Acknowledgements	Biotechnology Training Program Cluster Award

Slava S. Butkovich

B.S. Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology
Joined September 2017

Research Keywords	data science, protein engineering
Acknowledgements	Cabell Fellowship Biotechnology Training Program Fellowship
Collaborators	D. Tullman-Ercek

Computation Lead

Jason Y. Cain

Ph.D. candidate, Chemical Engineering

B.S. Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University
M.S. Chemical & Biological Engineering, Northwestern University
Joined September 2017

Research Keywords	agent-based models, hypoxia, angiogenesis
Acknowledgements	Northwestern University Data Science Fellowship Biotechnology Training Program Fellowship

Operations Lead

Kate E. Dray

Ph.D. candidate, Chemical & Biological Engineering

B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Kentucky
Joined September 2017

Research Keywords	ODEs, synthetic biology, gene expression dynamics
Acknowledgements	NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Biotechnology Training Program Cluster Award
Collaborators	J. N. Leonard

Sophia K. Jannetty

B.A. Biology, Williams College
Post Baccalaureate Computer Science Certificate, Tufts University
Joined September 2020

Research Keywords	biological network analysis, data science, electrophysiology

Joshua I. Levy

Ph.D. candidate, Engineering Sciences & Applied Mathematics

B.S. Applied Mathematics and B.S. Chemistry, Tufts University
M.S. Mathematical Modelling and Scientific Computing, University of Oxford
Joined September 2016

Research Keywords	sensory navigation, circadian dynamics
Acknowledgements	Cabell Fellowship
Collaborators	W. L. Kath \| M. Gallio

Alexis N. Prybutok

Ph.D. candidate, Chemical & Biological Engineering

B.S. Chemical Engineering and B.S. Biochemistry, University of Texas at Austin
Joined September 2016

Research Keywords	agent-based models, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies, solid tumor dynamics
Acknowledgements	NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Collaborators	J. N. Leonard

Undergraduate Students

Antonio Hazboun

Joined January 2019

Alumni

Graduate Students

Dr. Sebastian M. Bernasek (September 2014 — June 2019)

Ph.D. Chemical & Biological Engineering, Northwestern University
Thesis: Quantitative analysis of cell fate decisions

Dr. Justin D. Finkle (June 2013 — November 2018)

Bioinformatics Scientist at Tempus
Ph.D. Biological Sciences, Northwestern University
Thesis: Regulatory insights from gene expression dynamics

Acknowledgements	Biotechnology Training Program Fellowship Nicholson Fellowship

Dr. Joseph J. Muldoon (June 2014 — September 2020)

Postdoc at UCSF (Eyquem lab and Roybal lab)
Ph.D. Biological Sciences, Northwestern University
Thesis: Model-driven elucidation of synthetic and immune signaling mechanisms

Acknowledgements	Biotechnology Training Program Cluster Award

Dr. Jia J. Wu (June 2013 — December 2018)

Computational Biologist at Novartis
Ph.D. Biological Sciences, Northwestern University
Thesis: Data-driven strategies for optimization of human megakaryocyte differentiation

Acknowledgements	Biotechnology Training Program Cluster Award National Science Foundation GK-12 Fellowship Ruth Kirchstein National Research Service Award

Dr. Albert Y. Xue (September 2012 — August 2018)

Data Scientist at Uptake
Ph.D. Chemical & Biological Engineering, Northwestern University
Thesis: Finding the needle in the haystack: Applying data science to address biological questions

Acknowledgements	Biotechnology Training Program Cluster Award NICO Data Science Research Support

M. Kasim Fassia (January 2013 — June 2016)

Medical student at Michigan State University
M.S. in Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University

Zeynab Mousavikhamene (September 2018 — December 2020)

B.S. Chemical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology
M.S. Chemical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology

Acknowledgements	Murphy Fellowship

Aaron D. Oppenheimer (January 2013 — June 2015)

Laboratory manager at Francis W. Parker School
M.S. in Chemical & Biological Engineering, Northwestern University

Acknowledgements	National Science Foundation GK-12 Fellowship

Postdocs

Dr. Tyrone J. Yacoub (September 2015 — September 2017)

Bioinformatics scientist at CB Therapeutics
Ph.D. Chemical & Biological Engineering, Northwestern University

Acknowledgements	Hartwell Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship

Dr. Mark F. Ciaccio (September 2012 — June 2015)

Senior biology data scientist at AbbVie
Ph.D. Cellular and Molecular Physiology, University of Chicago

Acknowledgements	Northwestern University Physical Science-Oncology Center Hartwell Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship

Undergraduate Students

Eduardo Muñoz (June 2018 — August 2018)

Student at University of California Irvine

Weipeng Zhang (July 2017 — June 2018)

Grad student at Georgetown University
B.S. in Chemical & Biological Engineering, Northwestern University

Maureen Ferries (September 2012 — March 2013)

Process automation engineer at Dow AgroSciences
B.S. in Chemical & Biological Engineering, Northwestern University

Click here for a list of our collaborators.