Michael Cummings

Michael Cummings is an Affiliate Professor of Biology at the University of Maryland, College Park, with an appointment in the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS). He serves as Director of the Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (CBCB) and the Master of Science Program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. His research focuses on bioinformatics, computational biology, molecular evolution, and machine learning applied to genetic and health challenges. He holds a Ph.D. in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University (1992).

His work includes developing the BEAGLE library for phylogenetic analysis, improving computational efficiency in evolutionary studies. Recent projects involve genetic ancestry inference, Parkinson’s disease diagnostics via wearable sensors, and malaria vaccine antigen prediction. He has received grants from NSF, NVIDIA, and the University of Maryland Grand Challenges Program. Cummings teaches courses like Bioinformatics and Genomics (CBMG688Y) and advises students such as Alexis Boleda in the Biological Sciences Graduate Program.

Key achievements include the NVIDIA Global Impact Award (2017) for BEAGLE, MPower Professor recognition (2025), and leadership in interdisciplinary research collaborations with medical and computational institutions.