Sara Mathieson

Sara Mathieson is an Associate Professor in the Computer Science Department at Haverford College. She holds a PhD in Computer Science from UC Berkeley (2015), advised by Yun S. Song, with a Designated Emphasis in Computational and Genomic Biology. Her research focuses on computational and population genetics, particularly demographic inference using statistical and machine learning methods. She has held prior positions at Swarthmore College (2017–2019) and Smith College (2015–2017).

Education:

• PhD in Computer Science, UC Berkeley (2015)
• Bachelor's in Mathematics with Computer Science, MIT (2010)
• Harvey Mudd College (2006–2007)

Research Interests:

• Developing statistical methods for genomic data
• Demographic inference in population genetics
• Applications of machine learning (GANs, CNNs) in evolutionary biology
• Analysis of endogamous populations and admixing dynamics

Grants & Funding:

• NIH R15 Grant (2020–2027): 'Adaptive evolutionary inference frameworks using GANs'

Lab & Collaborators:

• Current lab members: Kai Britt, Jadyn Elliott, Sarah Keim, etc.
• Notable alumni: Darshan Mehta (CRA Award), Sam Tan (CRA finalist)