Building the next generation

Our Team

A multidisciplinary team spanning three decades and multiple continents — from Peking University to UAB, we cultivate researchers who change the world.

Current Lab Members

Meet the researchers currently working in the AI.MED lab

Jake Y. Chen, PhD

Principal Investigator

Triton Endowed Professor · Founding Director, SPARC

HPNP

Huu Phong Nguyen, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Fuad Al Abir

PhD Student, Biomedical Informatics & Data Science

Delower Hossain

PhD Student, Computer Science

JHC

John Haoyuan Cheng

Research Staff

Nikhil Kurmachalam

Research Staff

Geetanjali Oishe

PhD Student

Zhandos Sembay, MS

Systems Administrator

Institutional Lineage of the Lab Director

A journey of scholarship across institutions and borders

Peking University

College of Life SciencesB.S.

University of Minnesota

Minneapolis, MNM.S. / Ph.D.

Indiana University / Purdue University

Indianapolis, INFaculty / Center Director

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Birmingham, ALFaculty / Center Director (current)

What to Expect

Tailored mentoring for every stage of your career

Postdoctoral Researchers

Collaborative research on funded projects
Grant writing mentorship (K-awards, R01 preparation)
Career development toward faculty or industry leadership
Access to multi-institutional collaborator network

PhD Students

World-class mentorship with individualized research plans
Deep research in cutting-edge computational biomedicine
Publication track in top-tier journals and conferences
Conference travel support (AMIA, ACM BCB, ISMB, etc.)

Master's Students

Thesis-level research in AI and biomedicine
Industry preparation and networking
Methods training in ML, NLP, and knowledge graphs
Collaborative lab environment with senior mentors

Undergraduates

Hands-on research with real biomedical datasets
Publication opportunities as co-author
Coding mentorship (Python, R, bioinformatics pipelines)
Preparation for graduate school or industry careers

Lab Alumni & Trainees

Over 80 researchers mentored across two decades and multiple institutions

Publication counts reflect co-authored papers with Prof. Chen

Postdoctoral Fellows & K-Award Scholars

Zongliang YuePhD, General Biological Sciences, UAB2020-202324 pubs

Thanh NguyenPhD, Computer Science, Purdue2018-202120 pubs

Ehsan SaghapourPhD, Biomedical Engineering, Isfahan U.2021-20236 pubs

Syed Aun MuhammadPhD, Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam U.20156 pubs

Scott HarrisonPhD, Microbiology, Michigan State2007-20093 pubs

Rahul SharmaPhD, Machine Learning, U. of Coimbra2021-20232 pubs

Jieun JeongPhD, Computer Science, Penn State2008-20092 pubs

Sudipto SahaPhD, Bioinformatics, JNU India2007-20082 pubs

Huu Phong NguyenCurrentPhD, Computer Science, U. of Coimbra2025-present1 pub

Michael FalolaK23 Fellow, Psychiatry, UAB2018-2023

Noha SharafeldinK33 Fellow, Cancer Outcomes, UAB2017-2021

PhD Students (Advisor/Chair)

Zongliang YuePhD, Genetics & Bioinformatics, UAB202024 pubs

Hui HuangPhD, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.201412 pubs

Delower HossainCurrentPhD, Computer Science, UABCurrent6 pubs

Kevin SongPhD, Biomedical Engineering, UAB2023-20256 pubs

Radomir SlominskiMD/PhD, Genetics & Bioinformatics, UAB2022-20236 pubs

Fuad Al AbirCurrentPhD, Biomedical Informatics & Data Science, UABCurrent5 pubs

Liang-Chin HuangPhD, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.20133 pubs

Samuel BhartiPhD, Biomedical Engineering, UAB2021-20222 pubs

Zhenyu WengPhD, CS & Engineering, Peking U. (co-advised)20201 pub

Geetanjali OisheCurrentPhD, UABCurrent

Master's Students (Advisor/Chair)

Zongliang YueMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.201524 pubs

Ragini PandeyMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.20089 pubs

Michael NeylonMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.20154 pubs

Chayaporn SuphavilaiMS, Computer Science, Purdue20143 pubs

Zhong YanMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.20063 pubs

Madhankumar SonachalamMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.20122 pubs

Sudhir R. ChowbinaMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.20092 pubs

Harini KasamsettyMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.20072 pubs

Lavanya DhanapalanMS, Computer Science, Purdue20072 pubs

Sudharani MamidipalliMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.20062 pubs

Madhura KshirsagarMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.20161 pub

Itika AroraMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.20161 pub

Paul HaleMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.20121 pub

Shailaja TaduriMS, Computer Science, Purdue20071 pub

Kevin CaoMS, Bioinformatics, U. of Minnesota2017

Nafisa BulsaraMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.2017

Ronak P ShahMS, Computer Science, Purdue2016

Anurag BhattraiMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.2016

Sandeep ShantharamMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.2015

Ashish JainMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.2015

Myron SnelsonMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.2014

Prudhvi MummaneniMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.2011

Ehsan BehnamghaderMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.2010

Usha KattaMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.2009

Ramaprabha RamamurthyMS, Bioinformatics, Purdue2008

Sheetal KhadkeMS, Computer Science, Purdue2007

Sharmila JothirajahMS, Computer Science, Purdue2007

Bhanu PotugariMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.2007

Warren KillianMS, Computer Science, Purdue2006

Dissertation Committee Service

Eric ZhangPhD, Biomedical Engineering, UAB20216 pubs

Christian T. StackhousePhD, Neuroscience, UAB20202 pubs

Joshua HeyenPhD, Biochemistry, IU School of Medicine20102 pubs

Ao ZhouPhD, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.20141 pub

Julia K. ZiebroCurrentPhD, Cancer Biology, UABCurrent

Kyle H. CichosPhD, Immunology, UAB2023

Mathew NeuMD/PhD, Medical Scientist Training, UAB2020

Vishal SharmaPhD, Immunology, UAB2020

Deepali JhambPhD, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.2014

Jiangang LiuPhD, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.2010

Rati R. NairMS, Computer Science, Purdue2010

Rini PaulyMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.2010

Uday EvaniMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.2010

Mihai StancuMS, Health Informatics, Indiana U.2010

Maliki YacoubaMS, Bioinformatics, Georgetown U.2009

Stuart OughMS, Human-Computer Interaction, Indiana U.2007

Mindi DippoldMS, Bioinformatics, Indiana U.2006

Rakesh DhavalMS, Computer Science, Purdue2005

Undergraduate Researchers

Thanh NguyenComputer Science, IUPUI2012-201320 pubs

Kevin SongBiology, Stanford UniversitySummer 20146 pubs

Sara IbrahimPre-med, IUPUI2010-20144 pubs

Marianne McKenzieMathematics, IUPUI2010-20111 pub

Peter LiComputer Science, NorthwesternSummer 2010-20121 pub

Taiwo AjumobiBiology, DePauw UniversitySummer 20101 pub

Don CapouchECE, IUPUI2011-2013

Sujay ChandorkarCIS, IUPUI2011-2012

Everton LimaComputer Science, IUPUI2010-2011

Israel Aguilera-LainaChemistry, IUPUISummer 2009

Alexander SchererBiology, Stanford UniversitySummer 2008

Ayotunde O. OsiteluPre-Med, Vanderbilt UniversitySummer 2007

NIH Training Program Participation

Predoctoral research mentor on NIH T32 institutional training grants at UAB

NIH T32: Brain Tumor Biology

Predoctoral Research Mentor, UAB

Active

NIH T32: Immunology

Predoctoral Research Mentor, UAB · 2017–present

Active

NIH T32: Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases

Predoctoral Research Mentor, UAB · 2017–present

Active

NIH T32: UAB-HudsonAlpha Genomic Medicine

Predoctoral Research Mentor, UAB · 2017–present

Active

NIH T32: Multifaceted Translational Approach to Mental Illness

Predoctoral Research Mentor, UAB

Application Pending

NIH T32: GeoHealth Predoctoral Training

Predoctoral Research Mentor, UAB

Application Pending

NIH T32: Research Training in Engineered Tissue Constructs and Related Technologies

Predoctoral Research Mentor, UAB

Application Pending

NIH T32: Integrating Computational Biology Analytics into Research on the Basic Mechanisms of Diabetes

Predoctoral Research Mentor, UAB

Application Pending

Masters of Science Biomedical Sciences (MSBMS) Training Faculty, UAB

UAB · 2017–present

Graduate Biomedical Sciences (GBS) Doctoral Training Program Faculty, UAB

UAB · 2016–present

Graduate Bioinformatics Training Program, Indiana University School of Informatics and Computing

UAB · 2004–2016

Courses Taught

Graduate and undergraduate courses across institutions

University of Alabama at Birmingham

INFO 603/703 - Biological Data Management
INFO 693/793 - Bioinformatics Journal Club
INFO 510 - Programming for Biologists

Indiana University / Purdue University

INFO I519 - Introduction to Bioinformatics
INFO I646 - Topics in Computational Systems Biology
INFO I556 - Biological Database Management
INFO I501 - Introduction to Informatics
INFO I690 - Seminars in Bioinformatics
CSCI 443 - Biological Database Management

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions from prospective trainees

Ready to Join?

We are always looking for passionate researchers at every career stage.

Apply to Join the Lab