Dr. Palash Sashittal is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Virginia Tech. Prior to joining Virginia Tech, he was a Postdoctoral Research Associate with Prof. Ben Raphael in the Computer Science Department at Princeton University. He received a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering and M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and B.Tech. in Aerospace Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay).

His research focuses on the design of combinatorial and statistical algorithms to analyze and interpret sequencing data. Recent areas of emphasis include infectious disease evolution and transmission, cancer genome evolution, and cell fate mapping of developmental systems. Palash’s work has been recognized by multiple awards and honors, including Mistletoe Research Fellowship, Best Paper Award at RECOMB CCB, Cornell Future Faculty Fellowship and Mavis Future Faculty Fellowship (UIUC).