Rice's Luay Nakhleh wins Guggenheim Fellowship

A computer scientist at Rice University was recently awarded with a Guggenheim Fellowship to further his research in creating new tools and methods for tracing genetic histories and the genetic links between species.

Luay Nakleh was one of 181 Guggenheim Fellows announced in April, according to a press release.

The scholars, artists and scientists selected represent 54 disciplines and were chosen from approximately 3,000 applicants. The fellowships are funded by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial foundation and are awarded on the basis of prior achievement and exceptional promise to allow recipients six to 12 months to work with creative freedom, according to the press release.

Nakleh is an associate professor of computer science, ecology and evolutionary biology, biochemistry and cell biology. The Guggenheim award will help Nakleh further his research into new methodologies and software to study the history of both specific genes and entire genomes, the press release stated.

"Our ultimate goal is to create tools that can address significant biological questions about how life evolved and about fundamental evolutionary processes," Nakleh said in the press release.

For more information about his research visit www.bioinfo.cs.rice.edu.