Dr. Briana Vecchio-Pagán is a Senior Bioinformatics Scientist in the Biological Sciences Group of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL). Her research has focused on integrating genomic sequencing with novel data types to support a range of missions. Her recent projects have worked toward the development of biological threat surveillance platforms, health misinformation analytics, and piloting methods for hyperlocal contact tracing in health care settings. She serves as a technical lead and project manager across National Health and Research and Exploratory Development Mission Areas at the lab.
Dr. Vecchio-Pagán received B.A.s in Chemistry and Biochemistry from West Virginia University in 2010. Her undergraduate research focused on the development of DNA aptamers for biosensors. Following internships at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pennsylvania, she received her Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Medicine from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2016. Her dissertation focused on discovering the genetic and molecular etiology of rare diseases through next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics. She additionally worked to resolve subpopulations of patients with varying response to pharmaceutical interventions.