Q. Chelsea Curran

Dr. Q. Chelsea Curran is an assistant leader within the MIT Lincoln Laboratory Bioanalytics Systems and Technologies Group. In this role, she helps to oversee the development of software architectures and systems, bioinformatics tools, and AI algorithms in support of chemical and biological defense, biosecurity, and military and civilian health.

Curran joined the Laboratory’s Air Traffic Control Systems Group in 2015, where she led various research efforts in transportation logistics through the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) program, including data analytics and algorithm development for airlift planning, aircraft predictive maintenance, and air refueling operations. Between 2022-2024, Curran was an associate technology officer in the Lincoln Laboratory Technology Office, where she was responsible for supporting the strategic development of the Laboratory’s internal R&D investments, developing and executing innovation initiatives, and aiding in the general coordination of the Laboratory’s technology development strategy. Curran also served as chair of the Laboratory’s Advanced Concepts Committee, which is tasked with funding innovative early-stage research concepts within the Laboratory and with university collaborators. She is actively involved in the Laboratory community through recruiting, mentoring, STEM outreach, and diversity and inclusion initiatives, most notably through the Pan-Asian Laboratory Staff (PALS) employee resource group, which she helped to establish in 2016.

Prior to joining the Laboratory, Curran was an MITx Fellow in the MIT Office of Digital Learning, where she developed online educational content for the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics to reach global learners via the edX platform. She holds BSE degrees in Mechanical Engineering and in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University, and SM and PhD degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT.