Neda Bagheri

Professor Neda Bagheri holds dual appointments as Professor of Biology and Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Washington (UW), with an adjunct role at Northwestern University (NU) as Adjunct Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering. Her research bridges engineering and biology to address challenges in medicine and basic science, focusing on identifying design principles in complex biological systems and optimizing therapeutic interventions. She leads the Modeling Dynamic Life Systems (MODYLS) Lab, which employs interdisciplinary approaches combining experimental data with computational strategies from control theory and statistical analysis.

Bagheri earned her B.S. and M.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and later transitioned to systems biology and computational engineering. Her work has been recognized with an NSF CAREER Award (2017) and the Washington Research Foundation Distinguished Investigator title. She also serves as a Senior Advisor at the Allen Institute for Cell Science.

Her research interests span computational systems biology, multi-scale modeling, and agent-based simulations of heterogeneous cell populations. Key projects include Alzheimer’s disease gene therapy, CAR T-cell therapy design, and nanomedicine development. Recent advancements include 4D hybrid models of stem cell dynamics and CRISPR-based pathogen diagnostics.

Bagheri’s lab actively mentors students across disciplines, with notable trainees such as Po-Hao Chiu (Ph.D. candidate in Chemical Engineering) and Sophia Jannetty (Ph.D. candidate in Biology). Collaborations with institutions like the Allen Institute and Northwestern University underscore her commitment to interdisciplinary science.