Dr. Melissa Kemp

Biography

Melissa Lambeth Kemp received her B.S. in Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Washington. Dr. Kemp joined the faculty at Georgia Tech in 2006 after completing her postdoctoral training at MIT. Her expertise lies in computational modeling of metabolism and signal transduction, and she is focused on developing statistical modeling tools to examine network relationships within high-dimensional datasets. A major aspect of her research program is linking reactive oxygen species (ROS) — byproducts of aerobic metabolism — to the fundamental ways in which cells interpret instructions from their environment, neighboring cells, and their own genetic blueprints. Specific applications of her diverse work include systems modeling of transient phosphatase oxidation and kinase cascades, as well as investigating patient-specific differences in cytotoxicity related to redox-cycled chemotherapeutics and radiation. Dr. Kemp is currently the Research Director of a multi-site NSF Engineering Research Center on Cell Manufacturing Technologies and serves as the Associate Director of the NSF Science and Technology Center on Emergent Behavior of Integrated Cellular Systems, where she spearheads computational activities and develops agent-based models. Her honors include the Whitaker Graduate Fellowship, Merck/CSBi postdoctoral fellowship, the Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Scholar award, the NIH New Innovator Award, and the CSB2 Prize for Innovative Measurement Methods from the Council on Systems Biology in Boston.

Research Interests