Navlakha, previously a computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon University, studies “algorithms in nature”–how collections of molecules, cells and organisms communicate, process inputs and coordinate responses to solve problems. He plans to develop collaborations to create biological network analyses that bridge theoretical computer science and systems biology. Navlakha studied as an undergraduate at Simon’s Rock College and Cornell University and received a PhD in computer science focusing on biological networks at the University of Maryland, College Park. In 2013, he received an F32 postdoctoral fellowship award from the NIH.