Members
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Elham Azizi
Principal Investigator Elham is the Herbert and Florence Irving Associate Professor of Cancer Data Research (in the Irving Institute for Cancer Dynamics) and Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University. She is also affiliated with the Department of Computer Science, Data Science Institute, and the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. Elham holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology, an MSc in Electrical Engineering and a PhD in Bioinformatics from Boston University. She was a postdoctoral fellow in the Dana Pe'er Lab at Columbia University and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Her multidisciplinary research utilizes novel machine learning techniques and single-cell genomic and imaging technologies to study the dynamics and circuitry of interacting cells in the tumor microenvironment. She is a recipient of the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science, Takeda/NYAS Early-Career Innovator in Science Award, Allen Distinguished Investigator Award, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative SDL Award, NSF CAREER Award, Tri-Institutional Breakout Prize for Junior Investigators, NIH NCI Pathway to Independence Award, American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship, and IBM Best Paper Award at the New England Statistics Symposium. Curriculum Vitae. Teaching: BMCS 4480 Statistical Machine Learning in Genomics (Fall Semester) BMCS 4575 High Dimensional Statistics for Biomedical Data (Spring Semester) |
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Lingting Shi
NCI T32 Postdoctoral Fellow (co-mentored with José McFaline-Figueroa) Lingting is a postdoctoral research scientist at the Herbert and Florence Irving Institute for Cancer Dynamics. She received a BS in biomedical engineering at Rutgers University, where she worked on developing an in vitro approach to identifying skin sensitizers with machine learning tools in Dr. Martin Yarmush’s Lab. Then for her Ph.D. degree, she joined Dr. Lance Kam’s lab at Columbia BME to study the mechanosensing of regulatory T cell induction for the generation of Tregs to treat autoimmune diseases. Now, Lingting is very excited to study cancer with computational approaches and explore the interaction between the immune system and cancer in the Azizi lab! Outside of the lab, Lingting enjoys cycling, camping, traveling, and exploring NYC. |
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Aaron Zweig
Damon Runyon Quantitative Biology Postdoctoral Fellow (co-mentored with David Knowles) Aaron is a postdoctoral research scientist at the Herbert and Florence Irving Institute for Cancer Dynamics, also jointly affiliated with the New York Genome Center. Previously, he studied mathematics for his bachelor’s degree at Stanford University, followed by a master’s degree at Stanford in Stefano Ermon’s lab doing research on graph neural networks. Aaron completed his PhD in Joan Bruna’s lab at NYU, where his research concerned approximation bounds and learnability guarantees of permutation-invariant networks. He is very keen to apply his computational background in the Azizi lab, utilizing geometric deep learning tools for causal inference of gene regulatory networks and spatial transcriptomics. |
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Achille Nazaret PhD student (co-advised with David Blei), Eric & Wendy Schmidt Center Ph.D. Fellow Achille is currently a Columbia PhD student in Computer Science. He previously studied at Ecole Polytechnique in France, where he developed his passion for theoretical science (mathematics, statistics, physics, CS) and machine learning. Achille has oriented his scientific excitement toward biology and genomics when conducting research in the Yosef Computational Biology lab at UC Berkeley in 2019. He is enthused about the potential of data, computer power and rigorous analytical tools to solve global issues and he hopes to make valuable progress in the Azizi Lab! |
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Cameron Park PhD Student, Kaganov Fellow Cameron is a PhD student in the BME department. While an undergraduate at Stanford, she majored in both Physics and Human Biology, and was a member of the varsity women's lacrosse team. After completing her undergraduate degrees in 2018, she stayed at Stanford for her Master's in Bioengineering. Originally from the Boston area, Cameron is happy to be back on the East Coast and is very excited to be able to explore machine learning and cancer biology in the Azizi lab! |
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Linyue (Joy) Fan MS/PhD Student, Van C. Mow Fellow and Avanessians Fellow Joy is a current PhD student in the BME department. She completed undergraduate training at MIT, where she studied Biological Engineering with a minor in Computer Science. Her previous work in the MIT Synthetic Biology Center involved using deep learning approaches to study the behavior of synthetic circuits in human stem cells. She is excited about working at the intersection of computer science, engineering, and experimental biology, and hopes to develop novel machine learning methods for the study of cancer in the Azizi lab. |
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Yinuo Jin MS/PhD Student, Columbia Presidential Fellow Yinuo is currently pursuing his PhD in BME after completing his BS in Computer Science at Columbia. He is interested in applying computational and statistical methods to sequence analysis, especially processing single-cell and long-read sequencing data. |
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Ioana (Lia) Lia MS/PhD Student (co-advised with José McFaline-Figueroa) Ioana is currently pursuing her PhD in the Biomedical Engineering department at Columbia University. She completed her undergraduate degrees in Applied Mathematics and Biomedical Engineering at Columbia, where she became interested in better understanding cancer and its possible solutions. After working on engineering bacteria to treat cancer in the Danino lab, Ioana is hoping to use single cell genomics and machine learning methods to gain more insight into the disease progression and treatment response in cancer; and she is very excited to do so under the guidance of Prof. Azizi and Prof. McFaline-Figueroa. |
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Justin Hong PhD Student Justin is a Columbia PhD student in the CS department. He completed his undergrad and Master’s at UC Berkeley in 2020 where he studied Computer Science & Molecular and Cellular Biology with an emphasis in Immunology. Justin has experience developing methods for single-cell data analysis in both the Song Lab and the Yosef Lab at UC Berkeley. He hopes to continue developing computational methods to uncover valuable biological insights in the Azizi Lab! |
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Kevin Hoffer-Hawlik
MS/PhD Student (co-advised with José McFaline-Figueroa), NSF Graduate Research Fellow and Blavatnik Fellow Kevin graduated from Dartmouth College with a BA in Biomedical Engineering with High Honors and is an entering MS/PhD student in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Columbia. As an undergraduate, he conducted research using data science and machine learning to improve emerging biomedical imaging modalities such as fluorescence-guided surgery and photoacoustic imaging in breast cancer. After graduating, Kevin joined ClearView Healthcare Partners as a strategy consultant to advise biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. He is interested in advancing novel therapeutics in cancer and other intractable diseases. He joins the Azizi and McFaline-Figueroa labs to further their work in machine learning and cancer biology dynamics. |
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Mingxuan Zhang
PhD Student (co-advised with Andrea Califano) Ming is a Ph.D. student in the Molecular Therapeutics and Systems Biology Departments at Columbia University Medical Center. He completed his BS in Computer Science and Mathematics from UC San Diego in 2019 and his MS in Computational Biology from Cornell University in 2022. Mingxuan has experience developing deep learning and statistical models for cancer genomics data at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. His research focuses on developing novel probabilistic learning models for multi-omics data that decode cancer dynamics under molecular therapies with interaction networks and graphs. He is excited to create interpretable machine learning models that offer quantitative perspectives on systems onco-pharmacology in the Azizi and Califano labs. |
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Khushi Desai PhD Student Khushi is currently pursuing an PhD in Computer Science. She previously received her MS in CS at Columbia and majored in CS at the University of California, Berkeley. Previously, her research focused on deep learning and computer vision architectures. At the Azizi lab, she hopes to develop her interest in developing these models for biomedical advancements. In her free time, Khushi enjoys painting, running, and scuba diving! |
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Neeha Kothapalli MD-PhD Student (co-advised with Ben Izar) Neeha is an MD-PhD student at Columbia. Originally from Kansas, she graduated from Yale University with a double major in Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry and Statistics & Data Science. As an undergrad, she discovered her interests in computational biology while working in the Kaminski lab studying chronic lung diseases. Under the guidance of Profs. Azizi and Izar, she is excited to develop computational tools to address complex questions in genomics and cancer biology! |
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Nicolas Beltran-Velez
Collaborating PhD Student Nicolas is a Computer Science Ph.D. student at Columbia University interested in Bayesian Statistics, Reinforcement Learning and Probabilistic Programming. Previously, he worked at Fero Labs where he focused on developing new machine learning algorithms for improving process efficiency in industrial settings with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions. More generally he is interested in applications of AI and Machine Learning to high-impact domains that contribute positively to society. Nicolas holds a B.A in Computer Science, Mathematics, and Statistics from Columbia University. |
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Joshua Myers PhD student starting in Fall 2025 Josh completed his BS in Computer Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2022 with a focus on machine learning applications and received his MS degree in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Columbia. Josh has experience in developing deep learning models combining clinical data and imaging techniques for clinical usage such as surgical navigations. He is currently interested in researching interpretable machine learning models that contribute to identification of biological systems for the Azizi lab. |
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Sopho Kevlishvili PhD student starting in Fall 2025 Sopho comleted her MS in Computer Science at Columbia. As an undergrad, she studied biomedical engineering and computer science also at Columbia University. She is interested in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and their applications to medicine and computational biology. She aspires to work on developing novel machine learning methods to answer research questions regarding diseases and treatment methods. In her free time she enjoys visiting museums and exploring New York. |
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Bar Rozenman MS Student Bar is an MS student in Biomedical Engineering specializing in Bioinformatics and Machine Learning. In the Azizi Lab, he applies computational approaches to analyze cellular interactions and multi-omics data in single-cell genomics and spatial transcriptomics. Drawing from his experience in various AI startups, he is excited to apply deep learning to research problems in the world of single-cell biology. He also holds a Bachelor's degree in BME and Biology from Tel Aviv University. |
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Abdullah Naqvi Research Technician Abdullah is currently a senior studying Biotechnology at the CCNY Division of Science. He joined the Azizi lab in 2024 as part of the Herbert and Florence Irving Institute for Cancer Dynamics Summer Research Program, after which he was invited to stay in the lab as a research technician. Previously, he was selected for the MSKCC HOPP ResTeP Program, where he studied the effect of Cyclophosphamide on the intestinal epithelium during GvHD. He is very excited to apply his skills and knowledge to his work at the Azizi Lab and learn more about tumor-immune system interactions! When he is not in the lab, Abdullah likes to read and play with his pet cat. |
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Kaylee Wanlu Fang Undergraduate Student Kaylee is an undergraduate student studying Computer Science. She is interested in the intersection of technology and biomedicine, and she is passionate about applying machine learning techniques to advance biomedical research. She aspires to leverage artificial intelligence techniques to improve disease understanding, diagnosis, and treatment. In her free time, she enjoys art, music, and exploring both cities and nature. |
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Danielle Maydan Undergraduate Student Danielle is a sophomore studying Computer Science at Columbia’s School of Engineering and Applied Science. She is excited about the potential of machine learning and computational biology to drive clinical advances. In her free time, Danielle loves to dance and explore NYC. |
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Jessie Huang Undergraduate Student Jessie is a first-year student studying Biomedical Engineering at Columbia’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. She is excited to join the Azizi Lab to learn more about the fascinating applications of technology and machine learning in the field of medicine. In her free time, Jessie enjoys exploring NYC and playing piano. Nicholas Djedjos Undergraduate Student Nicholas is a senior studying Computer Science at Columbia’s School of Engineering and Applied Science. He is looking forward to tackling tough single cell genomics problems to help drive clinical breakthroughs. In his free time, he likes playing soccer and practicing Taekwondo. Emma Losonczy Undergraduate Student Alyssa King Undergraduate Student |
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Pistachio Minute taker / Zoom meeting disruptor. |
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Udon Note taker / Mood enhancer. |
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Tatum Public Relations. |
Alumni:
Xueer Chen, Postdoctoral Research Scientist (2021-2022); Next position: Senior scientist at Bristol Myers Squibb.
Siyu He, PhD student co-advised with Kam Leong (2020-2023). Next position: Postdoctoral fellow at Stanford.
Michael Pressler, MS Student (2022-2024). Next position: PhD student in Statistics at Columbia.
Jia Yi (Ady) Zhang, MS Student (2023-2024). Next position: research scientist at NYGC.
Xumin Shen, MS Student (2022-2023). Next position: research technician at MSKCC.
Crystal Shin, MS Student (2022-2023). Next position: bioinformatician at Mount Sinai.
Shouvik Mani, MS Student (2021-2023). Next position: CS PhD student at Stanford.
Lauren Friend, MS Student (2020); Next Position: R&D Engineer at NASA Ames Research Center.
Lea Bohbot, IICD Alliance Program Summer Intern, Ecole Polytechnique (France) (Summer 2024).
Marc Chevriere, IICD Alliance Program Summer Intern, Ecole Polytechnique (France) (Summer 2024).
Hannah Khanshali (CCNY), IICD Research Intern (2023-2024). Next position: postbac at NYGC.
William O'Brien, Undergraduate Student (2023).
Tu Duyen Nguyen, IICD Alliance Program Summer Intern, Ecole Polytechnique (France) (Summer 2023).
Joshua Fuller, Research Assistant (2020-2023). Next position: MD student at Columbia.
Anabel Ojeda, IICD Summer Intern (Summer 2023).
Siddhant Sanghi, Undergraduate Student (2022-2023). Next position: PhD student at UC Davis.
Noa Kalfus, Undergraduate Student (2022-2023).
David Carrera, Undergraduate Student (2022-2022). Next position: Software engineer at Palantir.
Isha Arora, IICD Program Intern, Biomedical Engineering/Computer Science, Cornell University (2022).
Sopho Kevlishvili, Undergraduate Student (2021-2022).
Pranik Chainani, Visiting undergraduate from Statistics and Data Science, Yale University (Summer 2022).
Tamjeed Azad, Undergraduate Student (2020-2022); Next position: CS PhD student at Princeton U.
Ruxandra Tonea, Undergraduate Student (2021-2022); Next position: BME PhD student at U Chicago.
James Wang, Undergraduate Student (2021-2022); Next position: Associate Machine Learning Scientist at Atlassian.
Alex Toberoff, Undergraduate Student (2020-2021); Next position: Researcher at Jump Trading.
Max David Gupta, Undergraduate Student (2021).
Jose Pomarino Nima, Undergraduate Student (2020-2021).
Debra Duval, Research Assistant (2021).
Veronica Woldehanna, Undergraduate Student (2019-2020); Next Position: Software Engineer, Microsoft.
Kaleem Mehdi, Bioforce high school summer internship program (Summer 2022).
Madeline Rohde, High school Intern (2021-2022).
Princess Della Tsivor, High School Summer Student (2021); Next position: undergrad at Brown U.
Rachel Africk, High School Summer Student (2020); Next position: undergrad at U Penn SEAS.
