Smita Krishnaswamy is an Associate Professor of Genetics and Computer Science at Yale University with joint appointments in both departments. She is affiliated with multiple interdisciplinary programs including the Applied Mathematics Program, Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Program, Yale Center for Biomedical Data Science, Yale Cancer Center, and the Wu Tsai Institute. Her research bridges computational methods development with biomedical applications, focusing on unsupervised machine learning approaches for high-dimensional data analysis. Associate Professor of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine Associate Professor of Computer Science, Yale University Affiliated Faculty, Applied Mathematics Program Affiliated Faculty, Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Member, Yale Center for Biomedical Data Science Member, Yale Cancer Center Member, Wu Tsai Institute Dr. Krishnaswamy's research focuses on developing unsupervised machine learning techniques, particularly manifold learning and deep learning methods, to analyze high-dimensional biomedical data. Her lab creates algorithms for non-linear dimensionality reduction, data geometry learning, denoising, imputation, and inference of multi-granular structures from complex datasets. These methods are applied to diverse data types including single-cell RNA-sequencing, mass cytometry, electronic health records, and connectomic data across multiple biological systems. Her work spans several key application areas including immunology and immunotherapy, cancer research, neuroscience, developmental biology, and health outcomes analysis. The lab employs approaches from geometric deep learning, multiscale graph signal processing, and topological data analysis to extract meaningful biological insights from complex datasets. Recent publications demonstrate the lab's leadership in developing methods for spatial transcriptomics, brain-state trajectory modeling, and organ donation prediction. Excellence in Science Early-Career Investigator Award from FASEB (2022) Yale Cancer Center Class of '61 Cancer Research Award (2025) Dr. Krishnaswamy maintains active collaborations across Yale and secures research funding supporting her work in computational biomedicine. She advises students through multiple programs including Genetics, Computer Science, and the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, fostering interdisciplinary training at the intersection of computation and biomedicine. The Krishnaswamy Lab operates at the forefront of computational biomedicine, developing mathematical approaches that enable new biological discoveries from complex datasets.
