Tawaun Lucas, Ph.D.

As a Senior Computational Biologist, I work at the intersection of biology research and AI/ML model development to build scientific products and scalable computational workflows for biomedical research. I address biological questions through applying models and developing computational workflows, working closely with teams of scientists, engineers, and product staff. My responsibilities include partnering with cross-functional teams, working with community researchers and external partners, making recommendations to product teams, and designing benchmarking and evaluation studies. I focus on ensuring our products are scientifically valid and usable.

As a Computational Biologist on the OMNI Bioinformatics team, I worked within cross-functional teams to support discovery of immunology targets and development of therapeutics for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). I developed computational frameworks for the integration and analysis of multimodal data (molecular, cellular, clinical, and imaging) to enhance decision-making across the research and development pipeline. My work includes utilizing single cell and spatial transcriptomics and histology, along with foundation models for target discovery, target prioritization, biomarker discovery, and biomarker development. As a result, I was able to bring forward to targets for prioritization and create workstreams to help analyze datasets in a more timely manner saving approximately 10% of time from previous workstreams.

I played a pivotal role in advancing research on neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases through innovative methodologies and collaboration. • Created a large-scale transcriptomic atlas, significantly contributing to biomarker and target discovery efforts. • Developed and implemented machine learning algorithms for spatial transcriptomics (e.g., 10x Visium, 10x Xenium), enhancing data integration and analysis. • Mentored a diverse team computational and wet-lab scientists, fostering a collaborative environment that accelerated research progress and innovation.

My dissertation work is aimed at investigating the effects of peripheral glia in the spleen and their role in neuroimmune communication. Specifically, I have defined in detail their anatomy and morphology for the first time using immunohistochemistry. In addition, I generated transcriptomic data to describe their similarities and differences to other glial types in the CNS and PNS. My work is also aimed at investigating how they interact with sympathetic nerves and how the nerve glia bundle initiates and resolves immune responses.

- Responsible for hiring of first-time Program Assistants - Directly lead a team of 10 other Program Assistants - Directly mentored and supported undergraduate students from diverse background and guided them to appropriate resources. - Trained small group of students how to read a scientific paper and present scientific presentations.

As program manager I am responsible with facilitating groupings, creating and running outdoor activities each day of the camp, schedule of teachers, working with TAs, and handling logistics.

Dean's List Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, And Fall 2012. Varsity "N" Student Athlete Honor Roll 2010