Alisa Yurovsky
Grad program: Computer Science
Undergrad: BS in Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
Hometown: Stony Brook, NY
Advisor: Steven Skiena
How does it feel to earn an NSF GRF?
I feel very honored and lucky to be selected from a large pool of qualified applicants.
What will this award allow you to do that you might not have done without it?
This award will allow me to focus on research without the funding pressure.
What will you research and how might it benefit the world?
I am interested in synthetic gene design, a research area that spans computer science and molecular biology. Advancing the field of synthetic biology has numerous societal benefits, such as in the design of safe and effective vaccines, and leading to a greater understanding of gene translation, a mechanism that is common across all organisms.
What sparked your interest in your research, or science in general?
My initial interest in computer science research was sparked by my undergraduate summer internships at the Language Technologies and Medical Robotics labs at Carnegie Mellon University.
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