From Code to Care Computational Biology Graduates Bridge Computer Science and Medical School
Marylee WilliamsThursday, September 11, 2025Print this page.
Carnegie Mellon University alumnae Annie Nadkarni and Zahra Ahmad are proof that the road to medical school doesn't always follow a traditional path. In fact, sometimes it starts with computational biology.
Both Nadkarni and Ahmad recently graduated from the Ray and Stephanie Lane Computational Biology Department in CMU's School of Computer Science. While the department is globally known for pioneering research in drug discovery, genetics, cellular imaging and other technologies that drive biomedical innovation, it can also propel students toward medical school equipped with the interdisciplinary skills they need to succeed.
"When we launched the computational biology program, we intentionally wanted to create a pathway to medical careers for our students, whether that meant discovering the drugs of tomorrow, applying their computational skills in a medical institute or working on the ground as a medical doctor," said Phillip Compeau, the undergraduate program director and a teaching professor in the department. "We were excited about the prospect of sending the best and brightest computational students into areas of the workforce where SCS students hadn't been before, but our undergraduate students have surpassed all expectations we could have set for them. Zahra and Annie are no exception."
Nadkarni wants to revolutionize mental health treatment. A lofty goal, she acknowledges, especially for someone about to start an M.D./Ph.D. program, but one she set while she was a CMU student.
"One of the things that I observed from my college peers is that the treatment efficacy of antidepressants and similar medications is interesting," Nadkarni said. "Some classes of medicine work for some people, others do not. I think that fundamentally what I'd like to tackle is how we take treatments that work for some people and translate them into solutions for a wider population."
Ahmad found a home for her twin passions in technology and biology at CMU and followed that path to medical school, where she hopes to use computational tools to transform medicine.
Although Compeau couldn't pin down an exact date, he said it had been many years since an SCS undergraduate went on to medical school. But for Nadkarni and Ahmad, the Lane Computational Biology Department turned out to be the perfect launchpad for medical careers.
"I found out about the computational biology program when I applied to CMU — I think through a pamphlet I got in the mail," said Ahmad, who graduated from CMU in 2023 and is starting her second year of medical school at Georgetown University. "I was surprised and excited because I thought the program aligned with my interests, tackling this intersection of computer science and medicine. I wanted to learn about the computational tools in medicine, and at the same time, strengthen my passion for biology."
Both Ahmad and Nadkarni developed an early interest in biology and considered futures in medicine. But along the way, computer science and mathematics captured their curiosity. When it came time for college, they both chose SCS, imagining themselves pursuing technology-based careers.
The Lane Computational Biology Department gave Nadkarni and Ahmad a place to nurture their interests in biology and technology, and it supported them when they decided to go to medical school. While they both found their paths overwhelming at times, Nadkarni and Ahmad agree that their degrees in computational biology prepared them to tackle medical careers, particularly as computer science becomes more integrated into treatments.
"Computational biology is in a way two worlds," said Nadkarni, a first-year med student at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. "It's in tech and computation, but it's also in biology. My studies helped me learn how to talk to people across domains and communicate in areas where I have expertise and in ones where other people have more knowledge than me. It's that interdisciplinary nature that allows me to communicate to get closer to solutions. Also getting that background in computational genomics is super helpful because I could hit the ground running when I entered a lab."
Ahmad and Nadkarni credit Compeau with helping them navigate their undergraduate degrees and the medical school prerequisites.
"Dr. Compeau was an outstanding mentor," Ahmad said. "I often just walked into his office to ask a question, without a meeting scheduled, and he was always ready to help. I think he's the reason I was able to complete my pre-med courses along with my computational biology degree in a timely fashion and in a way that wasn't super stressful."
Ahmad said her computational biology requirements and pre-med courses fit together, and she took courses like cell biology and genetics. After graduation, she decided to take a gap year to develop clinical research experience at the University of Pennsylvania before moving on to medical school. Nadkarni made the same decision and worked at Yale University for a few years before entering medical school.
The computer science courses that Nadkarni and Ahmad took for their majors taught them how to approach problem-solving in a way that prepared them for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and medical school. They both served as teaching assistants at CMU, and they agree that the experience gave them the tools to work through complex topics.
"I knew how to break a problem down to explain it to somebody who maybe doesn't have a computer science background or is learning it for the first time," Ahmad said. "In real life, this is super applicable in research. For example, if I'm looking at imaging data for a tumor, it's useful to think spatially about how to define and measure margins mathematically, translate that into computational methods, and then communicate those solutions to collaborators in understandable terms."
As Nadkarni begins medical school, she notes that her CMU experience solidified the importance of following her curiosity and reminded her that there isn't one right way to achieve your goals.
"People might have this idea of what a path to medical school looks like, and I think both of us took more nontraditional ones," Nadkarni said. "I would advise someone unsure about whether they want to go to medical school to explore what they're interested in and try it out. If you're ultimately not interested in it long-term, that's totally fine. It's easy to get caught up in the feeling that you don't look like a typical applicant, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. There's room for people who think like a computer scientist or a writer or anything else. There's room for people who think entirely differently from either of us. There's room for so many voices in medicine."
For more information about educational opportunities in the Ray and Stephanie Lane Computational Biology Department, including the undergraduate program from which both Ahmad and Nadkarmi graduated, visit the department's website.
Aaron Aupperlee | 412-268-9068 | aaupperlee@cmu.edu