Draghici chosen to lead NSF program on machine learning, bioinformatics and computational biology

The National Science Foundation recently selected Sorin Draghici, professor of computer science in the Wayne State University College of Engineering, to direct the research program in machine learning, bioinformatics and computational biology, part of the Information Integration and Informatics (III) core within the Division of Computer and Information Science and Engineering at NSF.

The III core supports innovative research on computational methods for the full data lifecycle — from collection through archiving and knowledge discovery — to maximize the utility of information resources to science and engineering and broadly to society.

Projects in III range from formal theoretical research to those that advance data-intensive applications of scientific, engineering or societal importance. Areas within III include general methods for data acquisition, exploration, analysis, and explanation; advanced analytics; data management; and knowledge bases.

Draghici, who is on temporary leave from WSU to pursue this assignment, leads the Intelligent Systems and Bioinformatics Laboratory at Wayne State and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the WSU School of Medicine. His research is focused on artificial intelligence, machine learning and data mining techniques applied to bioinformatics and computational biology. He is an IEEE Fellow and has published two best-selling books on data analysis of high-throughput genomics data, eight book chapters, and more than 160 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers.

He is also the founder and CEO of Advaita Bioinformatics, an Ann Arbor-based company spun out of Draghici’s research at Wayne State. Advaita’s technology — including its patented intelligent software iPathwayGuide — has been supported by more than $4.5 million in grants from NSF, the National Institutes of Health and other agencies. The company provides its bioinformatics platforms to numerous premier research institutions including the University of Michigan, University of Washington, University of Chicago, Stanford University and Scripps Research, as well as many top pharmaceutical companies.