My current research interests are in bioinformatics and data science, with the focuses on developing novel statistical learning methods and graph-theoretic algorithms to answer challenge questions in these areas. In particular, my recent research involves Markov random fields of small treewidth and arbitary-order hidden Markov models, which are effective and efficient for global information mining of sequential data. One such ongoing application is to decode the information of higher-order residue interactions crucial to bio-molecular 3D structure prediction. My research projects range from algorithm design, user-interface development, programming, to in-depth investigations on information theory, algorithmic graph theory, and theory of computation. They provide rich opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to conduct collaborative and independent research. My research has been sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF).

I direct RNA-Informatics Lab at UGA with Russell Malmberg of Departments of Plant Biology and Genetics.

My teaching interests are in line with algorithms and foundation of computing. I have recently taught these courses.

My teaching in Spring 2023:

• CSCI 6470 Algorithms for graduate students.
  

CACM Viewpoint: Let's Not Dumb Down the History of Computer Science by Don Knuth.

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