Dr Debora Marks (Professor, Harvard Medical School) is a world-leading computational biologist whose work has fundamentally shaped how artificial intelligence is applied to biology. Her lab develops machine learning methods grounded in evolutionary principles, with a distinctive emphasis on interpretability and causality.
Marks' research established that three-dimensional protein structures can be predicted from sequence alone, a foundational advance that informed subsequent breakthroughs in the field. Her group has since revealed the fitness effects of human genetic variation at scale, built foundational generative models for proteins, antibodies, genomes and pioneered computational approaches to pandemic preparedness and vaccine development.
Marks has received numerous awards for her contributions to computational biology, including the Margot and Tom Pritzker Prize for AI in Science Research Excellence in recognition of her groundbreaking contributions to AI-driven biological discovery. Her work bridges fundamental science and translational impact across medicine, biosecurity, and sustainability.
Professional position
- Professor, Department of Systems Biology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School
- Associate Faculty, The Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT
- Affiliate Faculty, Kempner Institute, Harvard University
