The NC State Bioinformatics Research Center is the university’s hub for cutting-edge computational biology, bridging the life sciences, statistics, and computer science to tackle the most complex biological questions of our time. With world-class faculty driving discoveries in genomics, evolutionary biology, and data science, the center generates millions in annual research funding and trains the next generation of bioinformaticians shaping the future of medicine, agriculture, and environmental science.

World-Class Scholars & Research in Bioinformatics

• 38 active research projects in 2026
• 117 peer-reviewed publications in 2025
• $37 million in research expenditures in 5 years
• 2 NSF early CAREER award winners
• 4 Goodnight Early Career Innovators Awards
• 1 Goodnight Innovation Distinguished Professor
• 25 years of excellence in research & training in genomics and computational biology
• 87 PhDs and 54 masters in the aligned Bioinformatics Graduate Program

National & International Awards and Recognition

2 Winners of Faculty Early Career Awards

These highly competitive awards from national agencies are among the most prestigious honors young faculty can receive.

Dr. Xingcheng Lin

CAREER: Unraveling the Epigenetic Grammar Governing Chromatin Organization

It is well understood that genetic information encoded in DNA is passed on to future generations. However, genetic information can be modified without altering the DNA sequence, and these modifications can be passed on to future generations. Epigenetics is the study of this processes which shapes the three-dimensional organization of DNA and thus controls gene activity. Dysregulation of epigenetic processes has been implicated in numerous human diseases. Despite decades of research, the precise “epigenetic grammar” — the rules by which specific combinations of epigenetic modifications collectively shape chromatin structure — remains elusive.

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Dr. David Rasmussen

CAREER: Deconstructing the Fitness Tradeoffs that Limit Viral Host Range:

This research project will explore how viruses adapt to multiple host species. Viruses have a remarkable capacity to adapt to novel environments, but their potential to infect new hosts is not necessarily limitless. Adapting to a novel host is largely thought to decrease pathogen performance or fitness in other hosts, limiting the range of hosts a given pathogen can infect. Understanding how these tradeoffs could therefore provide major insights into how best to control and manage viral pathogens.

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National Awards and Service

2023 ASM Microbiome Data Prize

DADA2 passes 12k citations.

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2021 David Reif named to EPA Science Advisory Committee

David Reif was named to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) for a four-year term by Administrator Michael Regan.

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University Awards & Recognition

Goodnight Innovation Distinguished Professor

The College of Sciences named Fred Wright, professor in the Departments of Statistics and Biological Sciences as a Goodnight Innovation Distinguished Professor.

UniversitY and Provost awards

2023 Provost Faculty Fellow

Talented faculty in the exploration of academic leadership roles at the university’s highest levels.

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2022 University Faculty Scholar

Outstanding academic achievements and contributions to NC State through their teaching, scholarship and service to the university and beyond.

2025-26 University Faculty Scholars

The university has announced that Dr. Xinxia Peng, a professor of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, is part of the 2026 cohort of the campuswide NC State Faculty Scholars.