Kate Cooper

Kate Cooper is an Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Chair for BIOI, CYBR, and ITIN in the School of Interdisciplinary Informatics at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), College of Information Science & Technology. She has been a member of the UNO Bioinformatics Research Group since 2005 and officially joined the faculty in 2015. Her work bridges computational science and biomedical applications, with a strong focus on network modeling and data interpretation.

Research Interests: Dr. Cooper's research centers on applying network science to biomedical data, particularly in modeling gene expression and protein-protein interaction networks. She investigates how graph-theoretic properties can reveal functional insights in biological systems. Her recent focus includes consumer health informatics, exploring how diet impacts the microbiome to prevent disease. She also examines the use of graphs in modeling infectious disease spread and food product label co-occurrence.

Teaching and Service: She is passionate about bioinformatics education, modular curriculum design, and promoting reproducibility in research. She actively contributes to academic governance as Chair of multiple committees, including the College of IS&T Advisory Committee and the Bioinformatics Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.

Education:

• BS in Bioinformatics, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 2007
• PhD in Pathology & Microbiology (Bioinformatics Specialty Track), University of Nebraska Medical Center, 2013

Scientific Awards:

• No awards listed in the provided text.

Advising and Grants: While no students or grants are explicitly listed, Dr. Cooper plays a significant leadership role in curriculum development and academic service. Her long-standing involvement with the Bioinformatics Research Group since 2005 suggests sustained research engagement and potential grant activity, though specific funding sources are not mentioned.

Labs and Teams: She is a core member of the UNO Bioinformatics Research Group, where she collaborates on interdisciplinary projects involving network analysis, high-performance computing, and health informatics applications.