Bio
Dr. Das is a computational biochemist at Stanford University School of Medicine. His lab seeks a predictive understanding of how RNA molecules code for complex biological machines. The lab's computer algorithms have consistently achieved leading predictions in world-wide structure prediction trials. Complementary to these computer methods, Dr. Das is developing high-throughput ‘multidimensional chemical mapping’ experiments to uncover three-dimensional structures and conformational changes of non-coding RNAs in their biological milieu, leading to discoveries relevant to human development, neurological disorders, and viral infection. Towards novel molecules of biomedical interest, Dr. Das leads the Eterna massive open laboratory. Eterna couples a 250,000-player videogame to the lab’s massively parallel experimental tools and deep learning, the first such platform in citizen science. Dr. Das’s research has been recognized with the Burroughs-Wellcome Career Award at the Interface of Science, a W.M. Keck Medical Research Program award, the OpenEye/American Chemical Society Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, and an endowed faculty award. Dr. Das mentors students from Stanford's biochemistry, biophysics, biomedical informatics, chemistry, and learning sciences Ph.D. programs.
Honors & Awards
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Gold Medal, Top US score, 2nd place worldwide, International Physics Olympiad (1995)
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British Marshall Scholar, Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission (1998-2000)
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Jane Coffin Childs Foundation Fellowship, Jane Coffin Childs Foundation (2006-2008)
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Career Award at the Scientific Interface, Burroughs-Wellcome Foundation (2008-2015)
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Keck Medical Research Grant award, W. M. Keck Foundation (2012)
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OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, American Chemical Society (2015)
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Discovery Innovation Award, Stanford University School of Medicine (2016)
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Biomedical Innovation Endowed Faculty Scholar, Anonymous donor, Stanford School of Medicine (2020)
Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations
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COVID-19 Research Oversight Committee, Stanford University (2020 - Present)
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Co-author, RNA Synthetic Biology Roadmap, Engineering Biology Research Consortium (2019 - Present)
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Editorial Advisory Board, Biochemistry (2017 - Present)
Professional Education
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Ph.D., Stanford University, Physics (2005)
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M.Res., University College London, Biocomplexity (2000)
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M.Phil., Cambridge University, Physics (Radio Astronomy) (1999)
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A.B.,s.c.l., Harvard University, Physics (1998)