Naoki Masuda, Ph.D., a pioneer in the field of temporal networks and wider network science, joins the Gilbert S. Omenn Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics as a full professor

The Gilbert S. Omenn Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics is pleased to announce that Naoki Masuda, Ph.D., joined its faculty as Professor with Tenure, effective July 1, 2025. 

Professor Masuda is also joined by his lab team composed of two postdoctoral fellows and two graduate students. The Masuda lab is accepting new students and postdoctoral fellows.

Masuda is an internationally recognized applied mathematician who develops theories, tools and computational methods to study networks. For the last 15 years, he has researched temporal networks –those that evolve over time– in a variety of contexts. 

As an applied mathematician, Masuda uses two contrasting approaches to study networks. On one hand, he applies differential equations and stochastic processes to model dynamic processes in nature and society. On the other hand, he also develops algorithms for directly analyzing network-related data.

His theories and algorithms have been applied to different types of data, for example, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from the brain, gene co-expression, substance use behavior, human social networks and its impact on classroom learning, or even transportation data and citation patterns. 

Masuda considers that network research is in essence collaborative, and he looks forward to establishing new partnerships at the University of Michigan (U-M).

“While there are commonalities to networks, it is also very important to understand the specificity of each of them. For this, I work with collaborators who are experts in their own field.”

Masuda started his research on genomics at State University of New York at Buffalo, NY, where he partnered with Dr. Omer Gokcumen, an evolutionary genomicist, and he intends to expand on this line of work at U-M. He is also interested in researching networks in psychiatric disorders. 

Masuda was initially trained as an applied mathematician in Japan, and received his Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Tokyo in 2002. He then did several research fellowships in Japan. When he was a Ph.D. student, he spent an academic year abroad at the University of California - San Diego, from 2000 to 2001. During that time, he came across seminal publication in Nature (1998) that launched network science. Masuda enthusiastically joined that field. 

Seeking various opportunities, he joined the University of Bristol, UK, from 2014 to 2019, where he developed an international network of collaborators within the UK and in other countries in Europe. 

“In a collaboration, it’s important to learn about each other’s interests and terminology. It is a mutual learning process,” he said. 

From 2019 until 2025, he was an Associate Professor and then a Professor in the Department of Mathematics, also affiliated with the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, at State University of New York at Buffalo, NY.

Masuda is thrilled to join U-M and DCMB that have a strong reputation for scientific collaborations and excellence.

Outside the lab, Masuda plays the piano and enjoys jogging.