Yi-Chieh (Jessica) Wu
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Bio

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Harvey Mudd College. My research interests lie in computational biology, with an emphasis on evolutionary genomics. I develop and apply computational and mathematical models and methods to reconstruct gene histories across multiple species. This research leverages my interdisciplinary background in computer science, machine learning, optimization, statistics, and biology. I have received an NSF CAREER award to support my teaching and research.

I earned my Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT, where I worked with Manolis Kellis in his Computational Biology Group, a part of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). I worked in phylogenetics and comparative genomics. I developed evolutionary models and inference algorithms and worked with several consortia to understand evolution in humans, mice, flies, mosquitoes, and worms.

I also received my S.M. in EECS from MIT. I developed coding models for retinal ganglion cells, working with John L. Wyatt in his Retinal Implant Research Group, a part of the Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE).

I graduated summa cum laude from Rice University with a B.S.E.E. (Electical Engineering) and a focus in systems. While there, I worked with Lydia Kavraki in her Physical and Biological Computing Group, where I used robotic algorithms to model protein flexibility.

Back in Summer 2006 (before my senior year of high school), I studied the structure and characteristics of photonic crystals with Anvar Zakhidov in his Nanophysics for Devices Group at the University of Texas at Dallas. This experience was provided by the Welch Summer Scholar Program.

As an undergraduate, I also did summer internships at Microsoft and National Instruments.

CV

CV (Updated 05/09/22).


Last updated 05/10/22.