May 29, 2026
The NIH Data Science Trainers Group recently hosted speaker Dr Phillip Compeau.
Phillip is a Teaching Professor and Assistant Dean for Innovation in Computing Education in the Computational Biology Department at Carnegie Mellon University. He is widely recognized for combining rigorous computational biology education with innovative, student-centered teaching methods. Over the past decade, Compeau has taught courses ranging from introductory programming to advanced bioinformatics, serving learners from high school students to Ph.D. candidates. His teaching philosophy emphasizes active learning, flipped classrooms, and the integration of online and in-person education.
Compeau is especially known for creating open and freely accessible educational resources that have reached learners worldwide. He co-founded Rosalind, a free online platform for learning bioinformatics through problem solving and helped develop one of the first large-scale online bioinformatics courses, which later became the Bioinformatics Specialization on Coursera. He also created Programming for Lovers and Biological Modeling, both designed as open educational projects that make high-quality STEM instruction available to anyone with an internet connection. Many of his materials are openly accessible and intended to reduce barriers to scientific education.
Looking ahead, Compeau plans to continue expanding scalable educational initiatives, developing new online learning platforms, and exploring leadership opportunities that improve computing education for future generations.
(for more information about the NIH Data Science Trainers Group, please join our Teams channel at General | NIH DataSci Trainers)
– Amy Stonelake, PhD (BTEP)
This topic spotlight was authored on May 29, 2026 and reflects the information available at that time. As content may evolve, please contact us at ncibtep@nih.gov to obtain the most current information.