Michael Chimenti, PhD

Director of Bioinformatics, Associate Research Scientist
Biography

I have broad training spanning the fields of bioinformatics, computational chemistry, and biophysics.  This training allows me to collaborate effectively on multidisciplinary projects where there is a significant need for computational and data analysis support. I am also able to communicate effectively with researchers from different fields owing to my varied background.  I have contributed data analysis support to dozens of projects that rely on next-generation sequencing (NGS) approaches.  For example, I have developed best-practices RNA-Seq analysis pipelines and downstream pathway enrichment analysis.  I have also helped to develop and maintain a clinical diagnostic sequencing test for drug metabolism and another for kidney disease.  I have co-authored many papers in field of bioinformatics, including studies in environmental metagenomics, cancer single-cell RNA-seq mapping, tumor transcriptomic and chromatin structure analysis, and bioinformatic methods.  Earlier in my career, I have also published several first-author manuscripts in biophysics, including a large-scale study of shifted pKa values in a model protein that was a first in the field.  I have also contributed to a highly-cited review paper on pH dysregulation in tumor cells in Nature Reviews Cancer.

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Education
BS, Biochemistry, University of Iowa
PhD, Biophysics, The Johns Hopkins University