معرفی
Vicky Yao is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Rice University, specializing in computational biology. Her research focuses on developing machine learning and statistical methods to understand biological circuitry underlying diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and rheumatoid arthritis. She emphasizes creating intuitive systems to interface with her models and predictions, such as ALPINE for phenotype decoding and ANDES for gene set analysis.
Education:
- PhD in Computer Science, Princeton University (2018)
- MS in Statistics, University of Chicago (2011)
- BA in Economics, University of Chicago (2011)
Research Interests:
Dr. Yao’s work bridges computational methods and biological systems, with a focus on:
- Modeling tissue and cell type specificity
- Understanding disease progression through genomics and network biology
- Developing interpretable machine learning tools for biomedical data analysis
Publications & Trends:
Her recent work (2022–2025) highlights advancements in:
- Multi-condition sequencing data analysis for disease phenotypes
- Gene embedding models for functional prediction
- Cell-type specific associations in complex traits
- Biomarkers for rheumatoid arthritis flares
Awards:
- 2019 CPRIT Scholar (Texas Cancer Research)
- 2011 Gordon Wu Fellow (Princeton)
Labs & Tools:
Dr. Yao’s lab develops open-source tools like Splitpea (protein interaction network analysis) and maintains a research portal for interactive systems. Her work emphasizes translational applications in precision medicine and disease modeling.
