Ashley Mae
Conard, Ph.D.

Biomedical ML, Microsoft Research Health Futures

I build interpretable AI and human-in-the-loop platforms that help scientists and clinicians make informed decisions in diagnosing and treating rare disease and cancer. With both wet- and dry-lab expertise, I develop methods for temporal multi-omic and text data that surface meaningful biological insights and enable expert-driven in-silico hypothesis testing.

Ph.D. in Computer Science and Computational Biology from Brown University, advised by Dr. Lorin Crawford, Dr. Erica Larschan, and Dr. Charles Lawrence, supported by an NSF GRFP, with a Postdoctoral fellowship in Biostatistics also at Brown. Previously a Fulbright Research Scholar in Belgium, collaborating with Dr. Tom Lenaerts on game theory and protein design and engaging with NATO and the European Union on science policy. Bachelors in Computer Science and Biochemistry from DePauw University, where I founded an organic farm supported by Dr. Jane Goodall. Internships at Microsoft Research, Google, Vanderbilt University, Eli Lilly, and MIT Lincoln Laboratory in biodefense with Dr. Jeremy Kepner.

Ashley Mae Conard, Ph.D. on stage at Grace Hopper Celebration

About

☀️ Senior Researcher on the Biomedical ML team at Microsoft Research Health Futures in Cambridge, MA. My current projects focus on rare disease diagnosis and cancer therapeutics in collaboration with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

🌙 By night, I serve on Boards and build programs to empower the next generation of underrepresented groups in science. I am currently a U.S. WWII D-Day Ambassador and an Advisor to flok and Tomorrow's Women Today. Formerly, I served as a U.S.-NATO Affairs Delegate, on the MIA Steering Committee at the Broad Institute, as ISCB Student Symposium Finance Chair, on the Board of Directors of the Fulbright Association, and on the Board of Trustees of AnitaB.org, where I created lasting programs. I am a mother, former college soccer athlete, and Aikido Kokikai practitioner who speaks fluent French and Spanish.