Program Director - Sam Walcott
Email: swalcott@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8316877
I use physical principles at the molecular scale to solve macroscopic problems in biology, e.g. How do a molecule’s mechanical properties influence the behavior of a cell? How do single molecule measurements relate to muscle function? To answer such questions, I use a combination of computer simulations and mathematical analysis. This theoretical work is complemented by experiments performed by my collaborators. In my teaching, I enjoy emphasizing connections between math and other disciplines.
Associate Program Director - Elizabeth Ryder
Email: ryder@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8316011
I have a long-standing interest in applying computer science and mathematics to solve biological problems. I am currently the Associate Director of WPI’s Program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, and I am always looking for students with interests in this exciting interdisciplinary area. One of my goals in teaching biology is to help students to think more quantitatively about biological questions. A few years ago, my colleague Dr. Brian White of UMass Boston and I were awarded a grant from the NSF to develop a course, “Simulation in Biology”. ...
Email: anarnold@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8316825
My research focuses on inverse problems and uncertainty quantification, incorporating elements of applied and computational mathematics, statistics, and scientific computing. Broadly speaking, inverse problems involve finding the unknown causes of observed effects, and uncertainty quantification plays a key role in understanding the reliability of predicted effects due to variability in the causes. In the problems that I consider, these causes are typically the unknown inputs (or parameters) of a system, and the effects are some partial, noisy observations of the system componen ...
Email: nfarny@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8316511
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Email: dkorkin@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8314916
My research is interdisciplinary and spans the fields of bioinformatics of complex diseases, computational genomics, systems biology, and biomedical data analytics. We bring expertise in machine learning, data mining, and massive data analytics to study molecular mechanisms underlying genetic disorders, such as cancer, diabetes, and autism, and deadly infections, such as pandemic flu. Our approaches benefit from integrating multi-omic, systems, and structural biology data. ...
Email: almanning@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8314961
Work in my lab is focused on defining the cellular mechanisms that maintain genome stability in normal cells and understanding how these pathways are corrupted in cancer cells. ...
Email: ruiz@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8315640
Carolina Ruiz is the Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences and the Harold L. Jurist ’61 and Heather E. Jurist Dean’s Professor of Computer Science. She joined the WPI faculty in 1997. Prof. Ruiz’s research is in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Data Mining, and their applications to Medicine and Health. She has worked on several clinical domains including sleep, stroke, obesity and pancreatic cancer. Prof. ...
Email: bservat@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8315361
What is a better way of learning, soaking knowledge up like a sponge or like a sieve? A sponge may be saturated quickly, while an appropriate sieve retains the valuable and discards the superfluous. The essence of teaching is to enable the student to recognize the jewels in a subject, unearth them, and create a valuable collection.
Email: lvidali@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8314194
I deeply enjoy teaching, in particular conveying the important roles played by plants. It is a great reward when my students realize that plants are more complex and interesting than they anticipated, and they want to learn more. I enjoy that students at WPI are open about thinking in new ways; this critical thinking is the result of intense project-based learning. ...
Email: emyoung@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8316398
My research is in the broad, interdisciplinary field of synthetic biology, which applies engineering principles to biology. Within this field, we apply chemical engineering tenets to reprogram the DNA of yeasts, bacteria, and fungi so their metabolism produces interesting molecules. By treating these cells as "chemical factories," we can approach and solve problems in biofuels, biomaterials, and biosensors from a chemical engineer’s point of view. ...
Email: emmanuel@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8315568
Emmanuel Agu is currently a professor in the computer science department at WPI having received his Masters and PhD in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. His research interests are in the areas of computer graphics, mobile computing, and wireless networks. He is especially interested in research into how to use a smartphone as a platform to deliver better healthcare. ...
Email: jduffy@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8315579
Defining signaling pathways that program cellular diversity is one of the foremost problems in biology and is central to my research interests. In the lab we use molecular, genetic, and biochemical approaches to characterize the function of these pathways and to gain insight into their role in disease. To date, the lab has focused on the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor network, a principal therapeutic target for a variety of human cancers. ...
Email: meltabakh@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8316421
Professor Eltabakh’s research is in the broad area of Database Management Systems and Information Management. In particular, his work is in the areas of query processing and optimization, indexing techniques, scientific data management, and large-scale data analytics. Prof. Eltabakh is currently exploring possible extensions to both database management systems and Hadoop framework to support scientific applications and health-care systems. He is a member of the Database Systems Research Group (DSRG) and a faculty member of the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (BCB) program. ...
Email: ltharrison@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8315952
Information visualization is a powerful means for understanding data and informing human minds. As people begin to rely on visualizations to make high-impact and even life-critical decisions, there is a growing need to ensure that information can be perceived accurately and precisely. ...
Email: martin@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8316764
Bill Martin’s goal is to find mathematical research projects that lie between beautiful and powerful mathematical theory, on the one hand, and pressing technological applications, on the other. This effort requires one to keep abreast of both mathematical developments and applications in computer science and engineering.
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Email: aemattson@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8316861
Research in the Mattson Group is a combination of catalyst design, methodology development, and complex molecule synthesis. Our catalyst design program is focused on the synthesis and study of new families of non-covalent catalysts, including boronate ureas and silanediols, that are able to promote new reactivity patterns. The catalyst design and associated reaction development programs are currently geared toward the synthesis of enantioenriched nitrogen and oxygen heterocycles that frequently appear in naturally occurring bioactive compounds. ...
Email: rcpaffenroth@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8316562
My research focuses on compressed sensing, machine learning, signal processing, and the interaction between mathematics, computer science and software engineering. My interests range from theoretical results to algorithms for tackling practical applied problems, and I enjoy problems most when mathematical results lead to efficient software implementations for big data. I am looking forward to working with students at all levels and backgrounds who share an interest in mathematics, software, or data. ...
Email: rpr@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8316120
A member of the WPI faculty since 2004 and chair of the Department of Biology and Biotechnology since 2022, Reeta Rao is a leader in the field of molecular genetics and genomics. Her primary research activities are focused on emerging infectious diseases, specifically understanding and managing fungal diseases. Students and research associates in her laboratory are trained to use a variety of biochemical, molecular-genetic, and genomic tools to study host-microbe interactions to explore fungal virulence strategies and identify novel therapeutics in a high through ...
Email: rundenst@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8315815
As founding Head of the interdisciplinary Data Science program here at WPI, I take great pleasure in doing all in my power to support the Data Science community in all its facets from research collaborations, and new educational initiatives to our innovative industry-sponsored and mentored Graduate Qualifying projects at the graduate level. ...
Email: sfscarlata@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8316803
Suzanne Scarlata, Richard Whitcomb Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, joined the university faculty in 2016. She studies how small molecules in the bloodstream can change the behavior of cells. In particular, she is interested in how certain hormones and neurotransmitters can activate a family of organic molecules known as G proteins (guanine nucleotide-binding proteins), which are involved in transmitting signals from various stimuli from the exterior to the interior of cells. ...
Email: sshell@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8315917
I have a passion for understanding how living systems work, as well as for sharing my love of biology and research with the next generation of scientists and informed citizens.
The central goal of my lab is to understand the regulatory mechanisms that underlie mycobacterial stress tolerance. We combine genetics, genomics, transcriptomics and biochemistry to understand how mycobacteria respond to, and ultimately survive, stressful conditions. ...
Email: esolovey@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8316936
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Email: jsrinivasan@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8316564
It has been my lifelong dream to become a professor in the field of Biology. Being a faculty member provides a great opportunity to teach and interact with students. Students by nature are highly inquisitive and motivated, and as teachers, we have the responsibility to guide our students to explore and think in new ways. I believe that teaching is a two-way interaction between teachers and students. I come from India and my parents, both of whom were teachers, taught me to strive for excellence in my scholarly pursuits. ...
Email: dtang@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8315332
I have been teaching and conducting research at WPI since 1988. Teaching is a lot of fun since it involves interactions with students, and we can pass our knowledge and experiences to students for their better future. I have been conducting research for cardiovascular modeling in the past 30 years and has made various contributions, especially in using image-based modeling for vulnerable plaque progression and rupture investigations. I collaborate with faculty from many universities, including Harvard, MIT, University of Washington (Seattle), Washington University (St. ...
Email: qwen@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8314932
Professor Wen is an experimental biophysicist who is interested in applying physical methods to understand biological phenomena. By measuring the mechanical properties of living cells and the mechanical interaction between cells and ECM, he aims to understand how cells convert external mechanical signals to internal biochemical signals that govern cellular function, including cell morphology, migration, and differentiation. His research will help to design novel materials for wound healing, tissue engineering, and tumor treatment. ...
Email: mwu2@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8316377
My research involves analysing size and shape development in biological processes. The form of living systems can be affected by growth and internal force, so it is important to know how they are patterned spatial-temporally. To do this, I develop deterministic approximate inference schemes using static and live imaging data; and develop mathematical models and numerical methods to describe tissue growth and morphogenesis. My research at WPI has attracted interest from all levels of students, and they have become enthusiastic and creative contributors.
Email: zheyangwu@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8315031
Professor Wu’s research interest lies in applying the power of statistical science to promote biomedical researches. In statistical genetics, he is developing novel statistical theory and methodology to analyze genome-wide association (GWA) data and deep (re)sequencing data to hunt new genetic factors for complex human diseases. In epigenetics, he is studying gene expression regulation mechanisms through chromatin interaction, and RNA silencing pathways in the developmental stages of germ-line cells. ...
Email: jzou@wpi.edu
Phone: +1 (508) 8316428
Professor Zou’s research focuses on financial time series and spatial statistics with applications to epidemiology, public health and climate change. His most recent research on statistical theory and methodology addressed a wide range of challenges including high dimensionality, complex dependencies, and space and time variations. His research in high-frequency financial data tackled problems with high dimensionality, which is currently a hot topic in statistics. ...