The Department of Systems Biology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center is pleased to welcome new faculty member, Mohammed AlQuraishi , PhD, effective Sept. 21. Dr. AlQuraishi joins Columbia as an assistant professor and as a member of Columbia’s Program for Mathematical Genomics. 

Prior to joining Columbia, Dr. AlQuraishi served as a fellow of systems pharmacology and systems biology at Harvard Medical School. He completed his PhD in genetics and master’s in statistics from Stanford University. At Santa Clara University, he earned two bachelor’s degrees in biology and in computer engineering. 

A Bay Area transplant via Baghdad and Kuala Lumpur, Dr. AlQuraishi spent most of his teenage years in the San Francisco Bay Area before moving to the east coast for postdoctoral work. Influenced by the dot-com boom of the early 2000s in the Bay Area, Dr. AlQuraishi founded two startups in the mobile computing space before focusing on a career in academia. His circuitous path to systems biology and academic research ultimately blended his genuine interest and expertise in computer programming, mathematics, molecular biology, and science more broadly.

“What drew me to biology is its similarity to software, the fact that cells are always executing a sort of program," he says. "And just like programs, cells are more than a parts list—they are complex and interconnected in myriad ways. To tame this complexity we need synthesis, and that is the promise and challenge of systems biology.”

Raul Rabadan, PhD, (standing) with Francesco Brundu, postdoctoral research scientist in the Rabadan lab (Credit: Jeffrey Schifman)

Congratulations to Drs. Raul Rabadan and Xuebing Wu who were recently named a Highly Cited Researcher, according to the 2019 list from the Web of Science Group . Overall, Columbia University ranked 15th on the list of global institutions, with a total of 47 Highly Cited Researchers.

The Highly Cited Researchers list, which was released Nov. 19,  identifies scientists and social scientists who have produced multiple papers ranking in the top 1% by citations for their field and year of publication, demonstrating significant research influence among their peers.

Xuebing Wu, PhD

Dr. Rabadan is professor of systems biology , with a joint appointment in biomedical informatics, at Columbia’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons . At Columbia, the Rabadan lab consists of an interdisciplinary team developing mathematical and computational tools to extract useful biological information from large data sets. In 2017, Dr. Rabadan established the Program for Mathematical Genomics , a multidisciplinary research hub that brings together researchers from the fields of mathematics, physics, computer science, engineering, and medicine, with the common goal of solving pressing biomedical problems through quantitative methods and analyses. He also serves as program lead for the Cancer Genomics and Epigenomics Program at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at NYP/Columbia. 

Dr. Tal Korem

Tal Korem, PhD, has been named a CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar, a fellowship that supports leading early-career researchers in science and technology. 

Dr. Korem is an assistant professor of systems biology with a joint appointment in obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons, and a faculty member of the Program for Mathematical Genomics . As a global scholar, he is joining CIFAR’s Humans and the Microbiome research program, where his work will focus on harnessing human microbial communities to identify and develop novel diagnostic and therapeutic tools.

CIFAR’s  Azrieli Global Scholars program supports its fellows through funding and mentorship, emphasizing essential network and professional skills development. The scholars join CIFAR research programs for a two-year period where they collaborate with fellows and brainstorm new approaches to pressing science and technology problems. Research topics are diverse, ranging from bio-solar energy and visual consciousness to engineered proteins and the immune system. 

Dr. Korem is one of 14 researchers out of an applicant pool of 217 selected by the Canadian-based nonprofit organization. This year’s cohort represents citizenship in eight countries and appointments in institutions from Canada, the U.S.,  Israel, Australia, the Netherlands, and Spain.

-Melanie A. Farmer