Hagit Shatkay facts for kids

Hagit Shatkay (born January 28, 1965 – died January 2, 2022) was a smart computer scientist from Israel and America. She was known for her important work in areas like computational biology, medical informatics, bioinformatics, and machine learning. These fields use computers to understand biology and health.

Hagit Shatkay was also a professor at the University of Delaware. She taught about computers and information science there. She was a senior member of the International Society for Computational Biology, which is a group for scientists who use computers to study biology.

Hagit Shatkay's Journey in Science

Hagit Shatkay loved learning about computers. She earned her first two degrees in computer science from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. Later, she moved to the United States.

She then earned her highest degree, a doctorate, from Brown University in 1999. This degree was also in computer science. Her advisor, who guided her studies, was Leslie Kaelbling.

Early Career and Research

After finishing her doctorate, Hagit Shatkay worked as a special researcher. From 1999 to 2000, she was at the National Center for Biotechnology Information. This center helps scientists share information about genes and biology.

Then, from 2001 to 2003, she worked for a company called Celera Genomics. Here, she used her computer skills to help with research in the private sector.

Becoming a Professor

Hagit Shatkay loved teaching and research. In 2004, she became an assistant professor at Queen's University at Kingston in Canada. A professor is a teacher and researcher at a university.

In 2010, she joined the University of Delaware. She started as an associate professor in their computer and information sciences department. Her hard work paid off, and in 2018, she became a full professor at the same university.

Sharing Knowledge and Helping Science

Hagit Shatkay also wrote a book with another scientist, Mark Craven. The book is called Mining the Biomedical Literature. It helps people learn how to find important information in scientific papers about biology and medicine.

She was a senior member of the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB). This group helps scientists who use computers to study living things. She also helped decide which computer science projects should get funding in Canada. She was part of the Computer Science Evaluation Panel for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).