INVESTIGATOR SPOTLIGHT: Nicole Vasilevsky, PhD

Nicole Vasilevsky is the Lead Biocurator for the Translational and Integrative Sciences Lab at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland, Oregon. Her current research focuses on development and use of semantic technologies that help computers understand data to facilitate new knowledge discovery and promote scientific reproducibility. Her expertise is in biocuration, which entails making data more structured, reusable and interoperable, and the development of standardized terminologies known as ontologies and data standards for phenotypes (the observable characteristics of an organism), diseases and other biomedical areas with the goal of improving disease diagnostics and health outcomes.