Mahdi Belcaid

Mahdi Belcaid is an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, holding joint appointments in the Information and Computer Sciences Department and the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB). He serves as the Executive Director of the Hawaii Data Science Institute (HIDSI). His research focuses on computational biology, bioinformatics, natural language processing (NLP), and data science education. Belcaid earned his M.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Quebec at Montreal and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Hawaii.

His lab is multidisciplinary, integrating informatics with biology and document analytics. Notable projects include developing AI tools for medical record systems and expense-tracking apps with high school interns under the Hokulani Project. He emphasizes collaboration and innovation, aiming to advance computational methods in biology and healthcare. Recent work includes viral genomics analysis, LLM applications in genomics, and improving disease tracking through sero-molecular studies.

Belcaid’s mission is to drive scientific impact through software engineering and data-driven solutions, prioritizing education and community engagement. His lab’s achievements include the Resheipt app and Parrot Forms, showcasing AI’s potential in healthcare and education. He actively participates in translational research and digital collaboration tools, such as Sage3 and 2D Jupyter Notebooks.