Research

Data Science talks cover making society fair, improving genetic understanding

This semester's kick-off Data Science Community talk features researchers, Shaun Mahony (left) and Hadi Hosseini. The two talks will cover how data science techniques are being used to make society more fair and to better understand gene regulation. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The upcoming Data Science Community Research Talks will feature two researchers who are using cutting-edge data-science techniques in their work to help create a fair society and improve our understanding of gene regulation.

Hadi Hosseini, assistant professor of information sciences and technology, and Shaun Mahony, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, will present the online sessions at the talk, scheduled from 1 to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 18.

Advance registration is required.

Hosseini will discuss the importance of making decisions according to preference data and algorithmic and theoretical advances in fair resource allocation. He will also offer insights on how empirical and theoretical findings, together, can provide deep insights into designing socially desirable systems.

Mahony will present on using machine learning to understand gene regulation. Mahony’s lab is applying machine learning techniques to understand how genes are regulated and how particular cellular identities are established. He will also discuss how neural networks can be used to interpret the way regulatory proteins establish distinct regulatory landscapes on the genome during development.

The Data Science Community is a grassroots initiative supported by Penn State's Teaching and Learning with Technology, Institute for Computational and Data Sciences and University Libraries. To learn more about Data Science Community events or to join the community mailing list, visit https://datascience.psu.edu.

Last Updated February 15, 2021

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