When imagining the future of technology, sometimes all we need to do is look out the window — or into a microscope.
Our researchers take inspiration from nature to redefine what a computer can be, from data storage using synthetic DNA, to sensors modeled on insects and leaves. We also advance technologies to help solve biology’s biggest mysteries, such as computational approaches for understanding the mechanisms of disease and brain-computer interfaces that can restore or augment physical function and mobility.
Research Groups & Labs

Mobile Intelligence Lab
The interdisciplinary Mobile Intelligence Lab builds intelligent systems and tools for tackling hard technical and societal problems, including battery-free computing, medical diagnostics, augmented human perception and more.

Mostafavi Lab
The Mostafavi Lab develops machine learning and statistical methods that combine evidence across multiple types of molecular/genomics data and disentangle spurious from meaningful correlations for new insights into mechanisms of health and disease.
Faculty Members
Centers & Initiatives
Society + Technology
Society + Technology is a cross-campus, cross-disciplinary initiative and community at the University of Washington that is dedicated to research, teaching and learning focused on the social, societal and justice dimensions of technology.
Institute for Medical Data Science (IMDS)
The Institute for Medical Data Science (IMDS) is a joint effort among the Schools of Medicine and Public Health and the College of Engineering, including the Allen School to lead the development and implementation of cutting-edge AI and data science methods in medical data science. By harnessing the power of AI across diverse health determinants, IMDS aims to improve patient health, provider satisfaction, and healthcare operations, particularly in the Pacific Northwest region.
Highlights
Allen School News

The ACM Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction recognized Fogarty’s leadership and contributions to human-computer interaction research including ubiquitous computing, interactive machine learning, accessibility and personal health informatics.
Allen School News

For her groundbreaking research on explainable AI for biology and medicine, Lee, who directs the UW’s AI for bioMedical Sciences Lab, was named a Fellow of the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB).
Agents of Tech

Nivala, co-director of the Molecular Information Systems Lab (MISL), discusses the groundbreaking potential of DNA-based data storage and its role in the future of AI.