Our Centers / Biocomputing, Security and Society

Connecting biology and computer science

The Biodesign Center for Biocomputing, Security and Society translates insights between computer science and biology, with a focus on understanding and mitigating malicious behavior in complex systems.

Deep connections between biology and computation lead to surprising insights and spark novel approaches to many of today’s most pressing problems. Our areas of interest include cancer, immunogenetics, privacy and cybersecurity, internet freedom and software engineering.

Our interdisciplinary approach to these problems brings biology and computation together in new ways, blending computer science, computational biology, complex systems modeling and wet lab experiments.

Director

Stephanie Forrest

Stephanie Forrest is a computer scientist who studies the biology of computation and computation in biology, specifically biological modeling of immunological processes and evolutionary diseases, cybersecurity, software engineering and evolutionary computation. Forrest has over 20 years’ experience leading interdisciplinary research and education programs, primarily in the intersection of biology and computation, including work on computer security, software engineering and biological modeling. 

Meet our center’s experts

Our center is supported by a knowledgeable team of researchers, staff and visionary leaders who are at the leading edge of their fields.


Contact

For questions about collaborations and center administration, please contact:

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Melanie Sala

Executive Administrative Support Specialist

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Emma Jensen

Administrative Specialist

Support the Biodesign Center for Biocomputing, Security and Society

 Developing defenses against malicious behavior across a wide variety of systems, focusing primarily on living systems and computation.