Olga Troyanskaya, a professor of computer science and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, has been named a 2020 fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery in recognition of her significant contributions to computational biology and data integration. In 2020, the association named 95 new fellows from research centers, companies and universities around the world.

Troyanskaya works at the intersection of molecular biology and computer science, developing computational methods for the analysis of gene expression data. Using machine learning and artificial intelligence, the Troyanskaya lab sheds light on the entire genome and the networks of interactions within it. 

Their work has produced important insights into cancer, autism, heart disease and other disorders. In a recent study, Troyanskaya and colleagues developed computational methods to improve the precision, safety and effectiveness of cancer immunotherapies. Other recent work used gene expression data and machine learning to elucidate why people with diabetic kidney disease are especially vulnerable to serious complications from COVID-19.

Troyanskaya, who earned a Ph.D. in biomedical informatics from Stanford University, joined the Princeton faculty in 2003. She also serves as deputy director for genomics Center for Computational Biology at the Flatiron Institute of the Simons Foundation. Among other honors, she is a recipient of the Sloan Research Fellowship, the National Science Foundation CAREER award, the Overton Prize from the International Society for Computational Biology, and the Ira Herskowitz Award from the Genetics Society of America.

The Association for Computing Machinery is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting computing educators, researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field’s challenges. The fellows program, initiated in 1993, recognizes the top 1% of ACM members for their outstanding accomplishments in computing and information technology and/or outstanding service to ACM and the larger computing community. The 2020 fellows join a distinguished list of colleagues to whom ACM and its members look for guidance and leadership in computing and information technology.