DBMI Trio Awarded Tenure, Promoted To Rank Of Associate Professor

Lena Mamykina, Ph.D., Yufeng Shen, Ph.D., and Nick Tatonetti, Ph.D., were awarded tenure and promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics at Columbia, effective July 2019.

Mamykina’s research resides in the areas of informatics, human-computer interaction, ubiquitous and pervasive computing, and computer-supported collaborative work. Her current research focuses on exploring new ways to use patient-generated data and computational intelligence to support health and wellness management. Her recent projects include development of technology-based lifestyle coaching interventions for individuals with diabetes, especially those within the local Washington Heights Community.

Shen studies human biology and diseases using genomic and computational approaches. His interest is in two broad questions: identifying genetic causes of human diseases, and understanding the dynamics of human adaptive immune system. He develops computational and statistical methods to analyze genomic data and interpret genetic variations. Shen has uncovered association of cell-type specific gene expression and regulation to genetic risk in autism and structural birth defects, and extensive connection of mutations in cancer and developmental disorders.

Tatonetti is focused on the use of advanced data science methods, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, to investigate medicine safety. Using emerging resources, such as electronic health records (EHR) and genomics databases, his lab is working to identify for whom these drugs will be safe and effective and for whom they will not. Among his most prominent work was a discovery of a specific dangerous drug interaction for the heart which otherwise would not have been found without using data mining and informatics methods.