PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Anna Panchenko

Anna Panchenko is a computational biologist whose AI research uses deep residual networks to study nucleosome positioning and computational methods to identify cancer-driver mutations. She earned a PhD in 1993 from Moscow State University's Biophysics Department, pursued postdoctoral research at the University of Illinois and NIH's NCBI, and became an NCBI Lead Scientist. In 2019, she joined Queen's Health Sciences as a Canada Research Chair and OICR Senior Investigator. Her work includes a 2024 deep residual network study, a 2025 paper on nucleosome-positioning maps, and a 2026 study using protein-domain evidence to identify cancer drivers; as of October 2026, she is a professor in Queen's Department of Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy.

Timeline

  1. 1989–1993

    Biophysics at Moscow State

    She earns a B.S. in 1989 and a PhD in 1993 from Moscow State University's Biophysics Department.

  2. By 2019

    Postdoctoral work and NCBI

    By 2019, she serves as an NCBI Lead Scientist after postdoctoral research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and NIH's NCBI. Her research creates computational methods to analyze protein interactions, cancer-driver events, and chromatin dynamics.

  3. 2019

    A Queen's chair and OICR role

    As a computational biologist, she joins Queen's Health Sciences in July 2019 as a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Computational Biology and Biophysics, and establishes her lab in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine. OICR names her a Senior Investigator in October 2019.

  4. 2024

    A deep network for nucleosomes

    In 2024, she coauthors an interpretable deep residual network that uncovers nucleosome positioning and associated features.

  5. 2025

    Professor and nucleosome maps

    In 2025, she is a professor and Canada Research Chair in Computational Biology and Biophysics at Queen's School of Computing, leading the Computational Biology and Biophysics Lab. In 2025, her lab coauthors Building Nucleosome Positioning Maps: Discovering Hidden Gems.

  6. 2026

    Protein domains and cancer drivers

    In 2026, she coauthors a Protein Science study that integrates protein-domain evidence to identify cancer-driver mutations.

  7. As of October 2026

    Professor at Queen's

    As of October 2026, she is a professor in Queen's Department of Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy, cross-appointed from Health Sciences.

Career

  1. Since 2019Queen's UniversityTier 1 Canada Research Chair in Computational Biology and Biophysics, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Computational Biology and Biophysics
  2. University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignPostdoctoral researcher
  3. United States Department of Health and Human ServicesLead Scientist

Education

  1. 1993Lomonosov Moscow State UniversityPhD
  2. 1989Lomonosov Moscow State UniversityB.S.

From the biography.

  1. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Queen's University. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  2. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Queen's University. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  3. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Queen's University. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  4. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorateIncludes University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorate. Across 2,116 people with both an undergraduate degree and a doctorate recorded, we trace which undergraduate schools feed which doctoral programs, how often students stay at the same school, and how paths differ by birth-country region.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Anna Panchenko - Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence vectorinstitute.ai. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Anna Panchenko - Bioinformatics.ca bioinformatics.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Investigating the molecular mysteries of cancer | Queen's Gazette queensu.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Internationally-recognized computational biologist, Dr. Anna Panchenko joins OICR as Senior Investigator oicr.on.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Anna Panchenko | Department of Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy queensu.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Anna Panchenko > Queen's School of Computing cs.queensu.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Publications panchenko-lab.org. Checked 20 October 2026.