Latanya A. Sweeney, PhD, FACMI

Dr. Sweeney received her bachelor’s degree in computer science from Harvard, and master’s and PhD degrees in computer science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As a graduate student she won awards at the American Medical Informatics Association in 1996 and 1997 for her work on text de-identification, and was influential in crafting the data de-identification provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy Rule. She is the founding director of the Laboratory for International Data Privacy at Carnegie Mellon, where she is an associate professor of computer science, technology, and policy. She has developed numerous algorithms for data de-identification and re-identification.

In addition to her scholarly publications, Dr. Sweeney’s ground-breaking research in data privacy has been featured in Consumer Reports, Newsweek, Newsday, Business Week, and The Wall Street Journal, as well as on the television news magazine 20/20. Her vision and analytic approach to this emerging field have created a well-deserved international reputation, and serve as the basis for her election to the College.