Assistant Professor

Chenguang Zhao, PhD

Dr. Zhao teaches a range of computer science and cybersecurity courses. His expertise lies in machine learning and bioinformatics, specifically in developing machine learning methods for protein function prediction, protein structure prediction, 3D genome analysis, and biological network analysis.

Contact Us

Contact Chenguang Zhao for information on Computer Science

Ambrose Hall

563-333-6000

ZhaoChenguang@sau.edu

Education and Training

PhD, University of Miami, Computer Science
MS, The University of Southern Mississippi, Computer Science
BE, Southwest Jiaotong University, Transportation

Recent Publications

Zhao, C., Liu, T., & Wang, Z. (2022). Predicting residue‐specific qualities of individual protein models using residual neural networks and graph neural networks. Proteins: Structure, Function, and Bioinformatics, 90(12), 2091-2102.
Zhao, C., Liu, T., & Wang, Z. (2022). Functional Similarities of Protein-Coding Genes in Topologically Associating Domains and Spatially-Proximate Genomic Regions. Genes, 13(3), 480.
Zhao, C., Liu, T., & Wang, Z. (2022). PANDA2: protein function prediction using graph neural networks. NAR genomics and bioinformatics, 4(1), lqac004.
Zhou, N., Jiang, Y., Bergquist, T. R., Lee, A. J., Kacsoh, B. Z., Crocker, A. W., ..., Zhao, C., ... & Salakoski, T. (2019). The CAFA challenge reports improved protein function prediction and new functional annotations for hundreds of genes through experimental screens. Genome biology, 20, 1-23.
Liu, T., Porter, J., Zhao, C., Zhu, H., Wang, N., Sun, Z., ... & Wang, Z. (2019). TADKB: Family classification and a knowledge base of topologically associating domains. BMC genomics, 20, 1-17.
Zhao, C., & Wang, Z. (2018). GOGO: An improved algorithm to measure the semantic similarity between gene ontology terms. Scientific reports, 8(1), 15107.
Wang, Z., Zhao, C., Wang, Y., Sun, Z., & Wang, N. (2018). PANDA: protein function prediction using domain architecture and affinity propagation. Scientific reports, 8(1), 3484.

Presentations

IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine (BIBM). 2024

Courses Taught

Script Programming

Introduces the fundamental concepts of script programming with an emphasis in automating common systems management tasks. Topics include simple data types, control structures, arrays, and string handling.

Discrete Structures

Introduction to discrete mathematics as used in computer science. Topics include propositional and the predicate logic, simple circuit logic, elementary number theory, sequences and summations, methods of proof (direct, by contradiction, by contraposition, by induction), set theory, graph theory, combinatorics, and discrete probability.

Contemporary Programming

Addresses the design, implementation, and testing

Systems Analysis and Design

Develops ability to analyze and design business information systems. A structured approach to the systems development life cycle (SDLC) is emphasized as a methodology for developing information systems requirements and design specifications. Explore modeling techniques throughout the SDLC by using CASE technologies.

Algorithm Design and Analysis

Introduces formal techniques to support the design and analysis of algorithms, focusing on both the underlying mathematical theory and practical considerations of efficiency. Topics include algorithm design techniques (brute force, divide and conquer, dynamic programming, and greedy), asymptotic complexity bounds, recurrence relations, sorting, searching, basic graph algorithms, and NP-completeness.

Programming Language Concepts

Study of theoretical aspects of programming languages. Topics include general syntax and semantics, axiomatic semantics, context free grammars, regular expressions, finite automata, Turing machines, parameter passing. Imperative, Functional and Logic programming paradigms will be explored.

AI-powered Protein Prediction

This course serves as a vehicle for offering a variety of topics in the rapidly changing field of computing. The course may be repeated with different topics. Prerequisites: Instructor permission.

Ind. Study in Computer Science

Reading, research, writing programs, or supervising programming projects in computer science not available in other courses. Prerequisites: Instructor permission.

Systems Analysis and Design in the Enterprise

Explores the different phases involved in the development of an information system: Planning, Analysis, Design, and Implementation. These phases are examined through the Object Oriented paradigm using the Unified Modeling Language (UML). Students will complete the Planning, Analysis, and Design phases of a semester long project. *An additional course fee will be charged.