Semih Kurt

Semih Kurt is a researcher at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, affiliated with the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and the Department of Computer Science's Computational Science and Technology (CST) division. He is also associated with Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab), contributing to Sweden's national molecular biosciences infrastructure through computational genomics research.

Education:

• PhD in Computer Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 2024. Dissertation: "Methods for rapid phylogenetic inference and copy number variation detection from transcriptomics data".

Research Interests: Kurt specializes in bioinformatics and computational biology, developing machine learning frameworks for genomic data analysis. His work addresses critical challenges in copy number variation (CNV) inference, phylogenetic reconstruction, and intratumoral heterogeneity using single-cell and spatial transcriptomics. By leveraging variational autoencoders and scalable algorithms, he creates tools that decode cancer progression mechanisms and evolutionary relationships with unprecedented resolution.

Publication Trends: Kurt's 2022-2024 publications reveal a strategic focus on accelerating genomic analysis through algorithmic innovation. His CopyVAE and decoST frameworks demonstrate deep learning's power in CNV detection without prior biological knowledge, while Sparse Neighbor Joining reduces phylogenetic computation from quadratic to near-linear complexity. This trajectory shows consistent advancement in computational efficiency and biological interpretability, bridging computer science with cancer genomics and evolutionary biology.

Scientific Awards: No scientific awards were mentioned in the provided text.

Advising and Grants: The available documentation does not specify student supervision or research funding details. His collaborative work with Jens Lagergren (supervisor) and international co-authors suggests active participation in funded research consortia, though specific grants remain unreported.

Labs and Teams: Kurt operates within KTH's Computational Science and Technology (CST) division, which develops computational methods for scientific challenges. His SciLifeLab affiliation connects him to Sweden's premier molecular biosciences hub, facilitating access to high-throughput sequencing facilities and cross-institutional cancer genomics initiatives.