About
Scientific work across disciplines
I am a computational biologist at ETH Zürich, working between biosystems engineering and computer science. My work combines method development, biological application and interdisciplinary project leadership.
Profile
Tanmay Tanna
I trained in biotechnology and molecular health sciences before moving fully into computational biology. That background still shapes how I work: the modelling begins with the measurement process, the experimental constraints and the biological question.
At ETH Zürich, I have led computational analysis across CRISPR-based molecular recording, single-cell perturbation screens, metabolomics, metagenomics and multimodal cancer profiling. I work across the Platt Lab and the Rätsch Lab, and I am an ETH AI Center associated researcher. I have also co-led and contributed to proposal writing, supervised students and worked with collaborators across experimental, clinical and computational disciplines.
Experience
Positions & education
- Feb 2026–present
Senior Researcher (Oberassistent)
ETH Zürich · D-BSSE and Department of Computer Science
Leads computational and machine-learning work for genome-scale in vivo Perturb-seq across the mouse cortex, other organs and microglia, coordinating analysis and mentoring MSc and PhD researchers.
- Jun 2024–Feb 2026
Postdoctoral Researcher
ETH Zürich · groups of Randall J. Platt and Gunnar Rätsch
Established computational foundations for CZI/Biohub-supported in vivo genome-scale perturbation screening and co-led perturbation-aware representation-learning work presented at NeurIPS AI4D3.
- 2020–2024
PhD in Computational Biology
ETH Zürich · D-BSSE and Department of Computer Science
Research on transcriptional recording, cancer multi-omics and computational methods for emerging cellular profiling technologies.
- Jan 2019–Jan 2020
Research Associate & Co-founder · Record Health (pre-incorporation)
ETH Zürich · Laboratory for Biological Engineering
Advanced Record-seq while developing the scientific and commercial foundations for Record Health through entrepreneurship programmes, ecosystem engagement, and technical and regulatory assessment.
- 2016–2018
MSc in Biology (Molecular Health Sciences)
ETH Zürich · Inlaks Scholar
Master’s research on Record-seq analysis and workflow development, supported by the Inlaks Scholarship for academically gifted students at top global universities.
- 2011–2015
BTech in Biotechnology
National Institute of Technology Warangal
Merit scholar. Completed a fully funded Erasmus Mundus exchange at Warsaw University of Life Sciences and a fully funded research internship at the University of Tokyo.
Funding
Selected programmes
- Chan Zuckerberg Initiative / BiohubIn vivo genome-scale perturbation screening · Computational lead; co-led proposal writing
- European Research CouncilRecord-seq · Computational lead; contributed to proposal writing
- Botnar FoundationRecord-seq · Computational lead; contributed to proposal writing
- Swiss Cancer LeagueMetagenomics and metabolomics in cancer · Computational lead; co-led proposal writing
Recognition
Awards & scholarships
- Academic Judge and Leader of TomorrowSt. Gallen Symposium · 2022–2025
- Gastroenterology PrizeSwiss Society of Gastroenterology · 2023
- Best Publication AwardDepartment for BioMedical Research · 2023
- Inlaks ScholarshipFor academically gifted students pursuing study at top global universities · 2016–2018
Expertise
Methods & leadership
Machine learning
Representation learning, probabilistic models, differential testing, statistical learning, PyTorch and JAX
Quantitative biology
Single-cell genomics, CRISPR screens, transcriptional recording, metabolomics and metagenomics
Scientific computing
Python, R, Bash, basic Rust, Bioconductor, HPC / SLURM, Git, Conda, Docker and reproducible workflows
Scientific leadership
Project design, interdisciplinary collaboration, grant development, supervision and teaching
Product & web
React, Next.js, Vercel, Supabase, scientific visualisation, Illustrator and LaTeX
Web & product
Selected web-development work
Independent product work and technical contributions outside computational biology, spanning public-facing websites and student entrepreneurship.
Research portfolio
tanmaytanna.com · Independent project
Designed and developed this Next.js portfolio, including structured publication data, accessible theming, responsive navigation and a Vercel-ready deployment configuration.
Wedding website
anitanmay.com · Independent project
Designed and developed a custom website for guest information and event logistics, deployed on Vercel.
ETH Entrepreneur Club
Web-development team · 2022–2023
Contributed to the student organisation’s web-development team alongside doctoral research.
Additional experience
Teaching, supervision & service
- Research supervisionSupervised seven MSc and two BSc students.
- TeachingTeaching assistant for Genome Engineering and Topics in Medical Machine Learning.
- Pro-bono strategy consultingConsultant with the ETH Graduate Consulting Club.
Background
Languages & qualifications
- LanguagesEnglish, Hindi and Gujarati (native); German (B1 working proficiency).
- CFA ProgrammeCFA Level I passed (2024).