Computational Biologist & Genomics Researcher

Akram Mohammed, MS, PhD

Bioinformatics Manager · Biorepository & Integrative Genomics (BIG) · UTHSC

I work at the intersection of genomics, machine learning, and precision medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. My research spans whole-exome sequencing, clinical genomics, multi-omics integration, and ML-driven prediction in critical care and disease settings including pediatric genomics, sickle cell disease, and sepsis.

40+ Publications
15+ Years Research
2 Nature Comms papers
48 Peer Reviews

About

Current Role

Bioinformatics Manager at UTHSC, leading the BIG (Biorepository & Integrative Genomics) initiative. I manage high-throughput whole-exome sequencing pipelines, maintain the LIMS, and develop scalable variant annotation and clinical genomics workflows.

Education

PhD, Biomedical Informatics — University of Nebraska Medical Center

MS, Computer Science — SUNY Albany

BS, Information Technology — Muffakham Jah College of Engineering & Technology

Additional Roles

Adjunct Faculty · LIMS Developer · HPC Liaison · AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner · Machine Learning Scientist

Expertise

Genomics WES/WGS GWAS PheWAS PRS Machine Learning Multi-omics Clinical Genomics Sepsis HPC AWS LIMS

Research Areas

🧬 Pediatric Genomics

Whole-exome sequencing and genotyping in diverse pediatric cohorts; ancestry estimation; variant interpretation for rare and common disease.

🤖 ML in Critical Care

Early prediction of sepsis, ARDS, AKI, and ICP events in ICU patients using physiological time-series data and ML/DL models.

🩸 Sickle Cell Disease

Machine learning for organ failure prediction, metabolomics-based biomarker discovery, and risk stratification in SCD populations.

📊 GWAS & Population Genetics

Genome-wide association studies, polygenic risk score modeling, PheWAS, and identity-by-descent analysis at biobank scale.

🔬 Host-Pathogen Interactions

Gene co-expression network analysis of fungal (Candida) infection; transcriptomic responses in endothelial and epithelial cells.

💊 Cancer Bioinformatics

Development of integrated pipelines for cancer biomarker discovery and multi-class cancer classification from high-throughput sequencing data.

Publications

Pediatric Nephrology 2026

APOL1 and chronic kidney disease in pediatrics: a study from the Biorepository and Integrative Genomics Initiative

Zahr RS, Chinthala L, Mohammed A, Kovesdy CP, Davis RL.

Nature Communications 2025 ⭐ Featured

Insights from the Biorepository and Integrative Genomics pediatric resource

S Buonaiuto, F Marsico, A Mohammed, et al.

Scientific Reports 2025

Machine learning models incorporating genotype and ancestry improve severe asthma risk prediction

Tahmin N, Chinthala LK, Marsico FL, Buonaiuto S, Mohammed A, et al.

American Journal of Nephrology 2024

Machine Learning Predicts Acute Kidney Injury in Hospitalized Patients with Sickle Cell Disease

Zahr RS, Mohammed A, Naik S, et al.

INFORMS Journal on Computing 2022

A Machine Learning-Enabled Partially Observable Markov Decision Process Framework for Early Sepsis Prediction

Liu Z, Khojandi A, Li X, Mohammed A, Davis RL, Kamaleswaran R.

Computers in Biology and Medicine 2021

HeMA: A Hierarchically Enriched Machine Learning Approach for Managing False Alarms in Real Time: A Sepsis Prediction Case Study

Liu Z, Khojandi A, Mohammed A, Li X, Chinthala LK, Davis RL, Kamaleswaran R.

International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2021

Integrative Analyses of Circulating Small RNAs and Kidney Graft Transcriptome in Transplant Glomerulopathy

Kuscu C, Kiran M, Mohammed A, Kuscu C, Satpathy S, Wolen A, et al.

Scientific Reports 2020

Electrocardiographic Changes Predate Parkinson's Disease Onset

Akbilgic O*, Kamaleswaran R*, Mohammed A*, et al. (*co-first author)

SHOCK® Journal 2020 Editor's Choice

Temporal Differential Expression of Physiomarkers Predicts Sepsis in Critically Ill Adults

Mohammed A, Van Wyk F, Chinthala LK, Khojandi A, Davis RL, Coopersmith CM, Kamaleswaran R.

Journal of Medical Internet Research 2020

Using Machine Learning to Predict Early Onset Acute Organ Failure in Critically Ill ICU Patients with Sickle Cell Disease

Mohammed A, Podila P, Davis R, Ataga K, Hankins J, Kamaleswaran R.

International Journal of Medical Informatics 2019

A minimal set of physiomarkers in continuous high-frequency data streams predict adult sepsis onset earlier

van Wyk F, Khojandi A, Mohammed A, Begoli E, Davis RL, Kamaleswaran R.

Frontiers in Physiology 2018

A Mechanistic Computational Model Reveals That Plasticity of CD4+ T Cell Differentiation Is a Function of Cytokine Composition and Dosage

Puniya BL, Todd RG, Mohammed A, Brown DM, Barberis M, Helikar T.

BMC Genomics 2016

Genome sequence analysis and characterization of Bacillus infantis NRRL B-14911 that has a potential to induce myocarditis in A/J mice

Mohammed A*, Massilamany C*, Loy JD, Purvis T, et al. (*co-first author)

Database (Oxford) 2015

LocSigDB: a database of experimental and predicted protein localization signals

Negi S, Pandey S, Srinivasan S, Mohammed A, Guda C.

Journal of Proteomics & Bioinformatics 2011

Computational Approaches for Automated Classification of Enzyme Sequences

Mohammed A, Guda C.

* co-first author  |  View full publication list on Google Scholar →

Preprints

Conference Abstracts

IEEE EMBS BHI 2025

Between Privacy and Utility: Navigating Inference Risks in De-Identified Health Data

Kar S, Chinthala L, Mohammed A, Davis R, Sakib SK.

Critical Care Medicine 2023

Characterization and Prediction of Norepinephrine Response in Critically Ill Adults

Gunturkun F, Khojandi A, Ayvat P, Davis RL, Baucum M, Chinthala L, Mohammed A, Shafi N.

Genetics in Medicine 2022

The Biorepository and Integrative Genomics (BIG) Initiative: Addressing genomic health care disparities in underserved communities

Brown C, Rooney R, Arnold S, Davis R, Hendrix C, Mohammed A, et al.

Blood (ASH) 2022

Machine Learning Predicts Acute Kidney Injury in Hospitalized Patients with Sickle Cell Disease

Zahr R*, Mohammed A*, Naik S, Faradji D, Lebensburger JD, Ataga KI, Davis RL. (*co-first author)

Journal of Neurotrauma 2021

Hemodynamic Features Predict Elevated Intracranial Pressure in Critically Ill Children

Ackerman K, Mohammed A, Chinthala L, Davis R, Kamaleswaran R, et al.

American Journal of Transplantation 2021

Identification of Molecular Markers for Liver Cirrhosis by Single-Nucleus RNA Sequencing

Kuscu C, Kuscu C, Mohammed A, Shetty A, Maluf DG, Eason J, Mas V.

Academic Profiles

Contact

Dr. Akram Mohammed

Bioinformatics Manager, BIG Initiative

University of Tennessee Health Science Center

50 N Dunlap St, Memphis, TN 38103