Dr. Bianca Dumitrascu

Biography

Bianca Dumitrascu is an Assistant Professor of Cancer Data Research at the Data Science Institute of Columbia University within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Her research is primarily focused on the intersection of machine learning and genetics, particularly how local molecular rules lead to emergent spatial patterns within biological dynamical systems. Her work employs techniques from statistical optimization and physics to analyze spatial transcriptomic data, aiming to understand single-cell identities and interactions during early development. Additionally, she has interests in active learning and graphical neural networks, which she uses to develop models for multi-agent systems inspired by biology and ecology. Previously, she served as an Affiliated Lecturer in the Computer Science Department at the University of Cambridge and was a member of the School of Mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study as well as a visitor at the Duke Statistical Science Department. She earned her PhD in Computational Biology from Princeton University and completed her undergraduate studies in Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Research Interests