Anne Ruxandra Carvunis

Anne Ruxandra Carvunis is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computational and Systems Biology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She holds a PhD in Bioinformatics from Université de Grenoble and has conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School and UC San Diego. Her lab focuses on molecular mechanisms of evolutionary innovation, including de novo gene emergence, systems biology, and proteomics. Key research themes include proto-gene function, transcriptional networks, and the implications of non-canonical ORFs.

Education:

• PhD in Bioinformatics, Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France
• Master’s in Interdisciplinary Approaches to Life Sciences, Université Paris VII
• BS/Master’s in Biology/Biochemistry and Molecular Neurosciences, Université Paris VI and École Normale Supérieure

Research Interests:

• Evolutionary mechanisms of novel gene emergence
• Systems biology approaches to cellular networks
• Functional implications of non-canonical proteins
• Translation regulation and translatome dynamics

Labs/Teams: Co-founder of the Pittsburgh Center for Evolutionary Biology and Medicine (CEBaM), fostering interdisciplinary research at the intersection of evolution and medicine.

Awards: NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, Sloan Research Fellowship, NSF CAREER Award, and multiple recognition grants.

Advising & Grants: Mentored 7 PhD students (including Omer Acar, April Rich) and secured funding via NIH, NSF, and private foundations.