Systems Biology & Biomedical Data Science

Distinctive Features

Tackling complex challenges in human health requires the systematic analysis of molecular, cellular, and multi-cellular processes in a quantitative framework. Rich datasets emerge from the development and application of cutting-edge experimental methods that deeply interrogate cell-tissue-organ physiology. Integration of these big data is achieved through predictive computational models that are scalable, flexible, and quantitatively rigorous.

We have a strong emphasis on clinical issues of cardiovascular disease, cancer and infectious diseases. Rather than focusing on comprehensive description of tractable model organisms such as E. coli or yeast or a specific domain such as agricultural biotechnology, our faculty focus on major diseases that are intractable without a systems viewpoint.

Our faculty have ongoing collaborations with physicians and basic scientists in the UVA School of Medicine. There are particularly well-established collaborations with the Cancer Center, Cardiovascular Research Center, Division of Infectious Diseases and Center for Public Health Genomics. Hiring in systems immunology is robust, leveraging relationships with the Carter Center for Immunology. We will continue to hire in biomedical data sciences, strengthening relationships with the School of Data Science, the Center for Public Health Genomics, and the Department of Computer Science.

The majority of our labs integrate both computational and experimental approaches. This integration provides a rich training experience and helps to keep the research programs focused on biomedical challenges.

National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates

NSF REU in Multi-Scale Systems Bioengineering and Biomedical Data Science (PI, Timothy Allen)

WEBSITE

National Institutes of Health Institutional Training Award for PhD Trainees

NIH T32 in Systems Biomolecular Data Science (Co-PI Jason Papin, Kevin Janes)

WEBSITE

BME Primary Faculty in this Area

Sameer Bajikar, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Departments of Cell Biology and Biomedical Engineering

Sameer Bajikar uses multidisciplinary approaches from human stem cells to computational models to understand how brain function goes awry in neurodevelopmental disorders to engineer new therapies for these diseases.

Philip E. Bourne, Ph.D.

Founding Dean, School of Data Science Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Philip E. Bourne leads a range of initiatives to encourage and facilitate the use of big data in large-scale research across the scientific and technological disciplines, with special emphasis on structural bioinformatics and systems pharmacology.

Sepideh Dolatshahi, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Research in the Dolatshahi lab combines multiplex experimental measurements with computational methods (including statistical machine learning, network inference, information theory, signal processing and kinetic-dynamic modeling) to solve problems in the context of cancer, infectious disease and…

Mohammad Fallahi-Sichani, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Dr. Fallahi-Sichani leads a Systems Biology research program aiming to discover the fundamental mechanisms through which human cancer cells respond heterogeneously to environmental and therapeutic perturbations.

Kevin Janes, Ph.D.

John Marshall Money Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Kevin Janes designs and uses systems bioengineering approaches to analyze cell signaling and transcriptional networks in cancer and infectious disease.

Matthew J. Lazzara

Professor of Chemical Engineering Professor of Biomedical Engineering Member, UVA Cancer Center

Work in the Lazzara Lab employs a combination of experimental and computational methods to study problems in cell signaling, the complex biochemical process cells use to make decisions.

Kristen Naegle, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering and the Center for Public Health Genomics

Kristen Naegle uses data- and computational-driven approaches to predict, and experimental approaches to test, the regulation and function of tyrosine phosphorylation in complex networks.

Jason Papin

Professor, Biomedical Engineering Harrison Distinguished Teaching Professor

Jason Papin, Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, develops computational models of cellular networks and performs experiments to characterize biological systems relevant to human disease. After his training in Bioengineering at University of California, San Diego, Jason Papin joined the faculty at University of Virginia in 2005.

Shayn Peirce-Cottler

Professor and Chair, Biomedical Engineering Harrison Distinguished Teaching Professor

Shayn Peirce-Cottler develops computational models and combines them with wet lab experiments and machine learning to study how tissues heal after injury and to develop new therapies for inducing tissue regeneration.

Gustavo Kunde Rohde, Ph.D.

Professor, Biomedical Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering

Dr. Rohde develops computational predictive models with applications in pathology, radiology, systems biology, and mobile sensing.

Jeff Saucerman

Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Jeff Saucerman, PhD, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, combines computational models and high-throughput experiments to discover molecular networks and drugs that control cardiac remodeling.

Natasha Diba Sheybani

Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery (by courtesy) Assistant Professor of Radiology & Medical Imaging (by courtesy) Research Director of the UVA Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center

Dr. Sheybani leads a translational research program centered on innovating tools and paradigms for non-invasive precision cancer management.

Aidong Zhang

Thomas M. Linville Professor Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering, and Data Science

Aidong Zhang's research focuses on developing machine learning approaches to interpretable and fair learning, concept-based learning, federated learning, and generative AI. She also works on large language models for hypothesis generations for scientific discovery.

Eli Zunder

Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Eli Zunder analyzes stem cell fate using single cell mass cytometry and high-dimensional modeling of cell lineage trajectories. He received his Ph.D. in Biophysics from UCSF in 2009.

Joint Faculty in Biomedical Data Sciences and Systems Biology

Christopher Deppmann

Associate Professor of Biology Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Christopher Deppman has been interested in the mechanisms underlying long-distance signaling in the context of nervous system development since he was a post-doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the laboratory of David Ginty (now at Harvard). 

Clint Miller

Assistant Professor of Public Health Sciences Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics

Clint Miller studies the genetic and environmental risk factors for coronary artery disease and other complex cardiovascular diseases using a combination of large-scale multi-omics profiling and genetic and drug perturbations. He is an Assistant Professor in Public Health Sciences and a resident member of the Center for Public Health Genomics.

Nathan Sheffield

Associate Professor of Public Health Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, and Data Science
The Sheffield Lab uses computation to ask and answer biological questions. We study the non-coding DNA that encodes gene regulatory networks and enables cellular differentiation, and how these networks break down in disease like cancer. To address these biological questions, we develop scientific…

Chongzhi Zang

Associate Professor of Public Health Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, and Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics

Dr. Chongzhi Zang is an associate professor and resident faculty member in the Center for Public Health Genomics, University of Virginia. He holds faculty appointments in the Departments of Public Health Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, and Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics.