2025 Bioinformatics Outstanding Student Awards

Each year, the Georgia Tech Bioinformatics Graduate Program recognizes outstanding students who have demonstrated exemplary leadership in bioinformatics and computational biology, while integrating research and education on the use of information technologies in biology and medicine. Faculty members nominate students, and an interdisciplinary committee of faculty members select the winners.  

Congratulations to the 2025 outstanding PhD and MS Bioinformatics students!
Rohini Janivara, PhD Bioinformatics student, is the award winner of the 2025 Mark Borodovsky Prize for Excellence in Bioinformatics. Rohini’s research advisor is Professor Joe Lachance.

Aarushi Gajri, MS Bioinformatics student, is the recipient of the 2025 J. Leland Jackson Fellowship. Aarushi’s research advisor is Professor Matt Torres.

The Jackson Fellowship also funds Bioinformatics “Best Paper” awards:
Best Paper, PhD Student = Xiao Zheng (Advisor, Annabelle Singer)
“Goal specific hippocampal inhibition gates learning,” Nature, 1-9. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08868-5  

Distinguished Paper, PhD Student = Nikesh Kumar (Advisor, Patrick McGrath)
“Large inversions in Lake Malawi cichlids are associated with habitat preference, lineage, and sex determination,” eLife 14:RP104923, https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.104923.2

Best Paper, MS Student = Malar Paavai Muthukumaran (Advisor, May Wang)
“Developing an Attention-Based Deep Learning Framework for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Detection Using Single-Channel Oximetry Signal,” IEEE-EMBS International Conference on Biomedical and Health Informatics (BHI’25)

Distinguished Paper, MS Student = Kyungbeom Kim (Advisor, May Wang)
“Enhancing Colon Cancer Risk Prediction in Machine Learning Models using Polygenic Risk Scores,” IEEE-EMBS International Conference on Biomedical and Health Informatics (BHI’25)

Many thanks to our two award committees for 2025. PhD Reviewers were Saurabh Sinha (Engineering), Matt Torres (Sciences), and Xiuwei Zhang (Computing). MS and Paper reviewers were King Jordan (Sciences) and Joe Lachance (Sciences).