Pavel Pevzner is the Ronald R. Taylor Chair and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at University of California, San Diego. He holds Ph.D. from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in Russia.
He was named Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor in 2006. He was elected the Association for Computing Machinery Fellow (2010) for "contribution to algorithms for genome rearrangements, DNA sequencing, and proteomics”, International Society for Computational Biology Fellow (2012), European Academy of Sciences (2016), and American Association for Advancement in Sciences (2018). He was awarded a Honoris Causa (2011) from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver and honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University. Hewas a recipient of the Senior Scientist Award from the International Society for Computational Biology (2017), and the Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award from the Association for Computing Machinery (2019). Dr. Pevzner co-authored textbooks "Computational Molecular Biology: An Algorithmic Approach", "Introduction to Bioinformatics Algorithms", “Bioinformatics Algorithms: an Active Learning Approach”, and Learning Algorithms Through Programming and Puzzle Solving  (2019). In 2015, jointly with Phillip Compeau, he developed a Bioinformatics bioinformatics specialization on Coursera. In 2016, he co-developed a Data Structures and Algorithms specialization on Coursera and MicroMaster Program at EdX.
 
It is impossible to imagine modern biology without computational ideas developed by bioinformatics pioneers in the last three decades. Today, computational molecular biology remains a wild frontier with still unexplored boundaries.
 
Bioinformatics is often defined as applications of computers in biology. We respectfully disagree: reducing bioinformatics to applications of computers in biology diminishes the rich intellectual content of bioinformatics.
 
Indeed, bioinformatics has become a part of modern biology and often dictates new fashions, enables new approaches, and drives further biological developments. Our lab is well equipped with the appropriate gear and ammunition to continue explorations of uncharted bioinformatics territories.