NYC Gazette

The Katz School of Science and Health has strengthened its faculty for the fall semester by adding experts in various STEM fields. This move highlights the school's leadership in education and research in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, computer science, and digital marketing.

“Our new faculty has a wealth of industry know-how, academic experience and innovative research in multiple disciplines,” said Paul Russo, dean of the Katz School and vice provost of Yeshiva University, “reaffirming our commitment to giving students access to leading minds in STEM fields and equipping them for success in an evolving digital and scientific landscape.”

In the Department of Graduate Computer Science and Engineering, Ming Ma joins as an assistant professor of computer science. His research covers artificial intelligence, geometric modeling, and medical imaging. He has published over 40 papers in leading journals and holds a Ph.D. from Stony Brook University.

Yucheng Xie is also an assistant professor of computer science specializing in machine learning and healthcare. He focuses on developing smart healthcare solutions and addressing IoT security challenges. Xie holds a Ph.D. from Purdue University.

Vince Zhu has contributed to improving how computers recognize human organs in medical images using advanced deep learning techniques. He holds four master’s degrees from Johns Hopkins University.

Adam Faulkner joins the M.S. program in Artificial Intelligence as a senior manager of data science at Capital One. He leads a team focusing on natural-language processing tasks using large language models. Faulkner holds a Ph.D. from the City University of New York.

Xiaopeng Tao has held academic positions at several institutions including Queens College and Fordham University. His work spans mathematics, programming, data structures, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Tao holds a Ph.D. from Fudan University.

Erik Dykema teaches classes intersecting law and technology within the M.S. program in Biotechnology Management and Entrepreneurship. He began his career as a patent litigator before founding CaseRails, a legal tech startup. Dykema holds a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.

Liz Hamburg is the founder and CEO of Candoo Tech which focuses on digital literacy for older adults. She teaches Technology Entrepreneurship and Venture Creation at Katz School and holds an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School.

Shifra-Liba Klein specializes in molecular biology, biotechnology, computational biology with experience in research product development and industry applications. She holds a Ph.D. from Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences.

Diana Matkowich brings extensive business development experience to her role within the M.S. program in Biotechnology Management and Entrepreneurship with an MBA from Rutgers University.

Jonathan Taub works at Biobina as a business development professional focusing on biotech ventures' business plans; he holds degrees from Katz School and Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business.

Mitch Haviv heads cybersecurity at Terra Holdings/Brown Harris Stevens with decades-long Wall Street experience; he holds an MBA from New York University along with an M.S. degree.

Kevin McKenzie is VP & CISO at Ferguson overseeing global information security; he holds advanced degrees from Clemson University including a doctorate.

Kun Bao is involved with Uber Technologies leading software system design; he earned his master's degree from New York University.

Yueming Xing teaches Project Management with expertise spanning quantitative trading to risk management; he earned his M.S degree from UNC Chapel Hill.

Liyang Yan who previously worked with Yahoo!, Facebook & Amazon now teaches Analytics Programming; he holds an M.S degree from NYU while Dylan Zheng contributes expertise as senior data engineer holding an M.S degree from Brown University

Larry Cohen brings financial modeling expertise teaching Digital Marketing courses holding an MBA degree whereas Ray Manna offers over 25 years’ worth experience spearheading digital initiatives holding another MBA degree