CDS Professor Pawel Przytycki Awarded $2.2M in NIH Funding
The Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences (CDS) is proud to announce that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded Pawel Przytycki, a CDS assistant professor and core faculty member in the Bioinformatics Program, the Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA), including $2.2 million in funding to support his cellular research. Przytycki is the sole principal investigator on the five-year project, titled “Network-Based Models for Continuous Cell State Inference.”
The MIRA program funds renewable five-year grants for research programs, giving investigators increased stability and flexibility, which in turn boosts scientific productivity and improves the likelihood of major breakthroughs.
The Przytycki Lab focuses on developing models for continuous cell state inference—a key capability for understanding disease progression and enabling earlier intervention. Rather than existing as stable, discrete types, the trillions of cells in the human body occupy a continuous spectrum of dynamic states. This is especially evident during development and disease progression, when cells undergo subtle but consequential changes over time. Przytycki’s research addresses this complexity by developing network-based models that leverage large-scale genomics data to better capture these evolving cell states.
Azer Bestavros, Associate Provost for Computing & Data Sciences, emphasized the strength of Przytycki’s problem-centered, collaborative, and interdisciplinary approach. He noted that Przytycki’s work “uses network science methodologies that leverage large-scale genomics data and is a perfect example of the premise— and prowess—of convergent research.” As part of Boston University’s Bioinformatics Program—a cutting-edge graduate program in CDS offering MS and PhD degrees that bridge biology, computer science, and statistics—Przytycki embraces interdisciplinary collaboration, including partnerships with BU’s Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.
With this NIH funding, Przytycki will continue advancing this work over the next five years, developing models that deepen our understanding of cellular dynamics in development and disease. To learn more about Przytycki’s research, see “With NIH Funding, Pawel Przytycki Seeks to Decode Cell State Progression.”
Congratulations to Pawel Przytycki on this well-deserved achievement, which will help drive data-driven discovery in the life sciences at CDS and beyond!