Software architecture Technical leadership Research
I lead and build data-intensive software, bringing together backend architecture, cloud engineering, and a research foundation in database systems.
Frankfurt am Main, Germany PhD in Computer Science
Research in practice Interactive tool
When, and under what conditions, can DNA data storage make economic sense?
Explore how storage duration, retrieval frequency, and DNA synthesis and sequencing costs shape the economics of long-term archives. The start-year outlook compares DNA with cloud and tape storage; the graphs below show the DNA cost assumptions and conditions for breaking even.
The same archive workload and retention period are compared across different storage start years. The dashed markers identify when DNA first matches or undercuts each alternative under the selected cost assumptions.
This curve models the cost of synthesizing enough DNA to store 1 MB of logical data, before redundancy, indexing, and coding overhead. The dotted segment is the paper's fitted historical trend; the solid segment follows the scenario's assumed price decline.
The markers show historical NHGRI sequencing costs, while the line shows the scenario's assumed future decline. Sequencing costs affect the cost of reading data back from a DNA archive, making retrieval frequency an important part of the comparison.
Career
Hessische Zentrale für Datenverarbeitung (HZD), Wiesbaden
Accelerated Solutions GmbH, Frankfurt am Main
Imperial College London, Department of Computing
Philipps University Marburg
Philipps University Marburg
Academic Foundation
Philipps University Marburg
Philipps University Marburg
Aalto University, Helsinki
Philipps University Marburg
Research
7 research works · including 2 manuscripts in preparation
@misc{El-Shaikh2026economic,
author={El-Shaikh, Alex and Seeger, Bernhard and Heinis, Thomas},
title={An Economic Analysis of DNA-based Data Storage Systems},
year={2026},
eprint={2608.26342},
archivePrefix={arXiv},
primaryClass={cs.ET},
doi={10.48550/arXiv.2608.26342},
url={https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2608.26342}
}@article{El-Shaikh2023query,
author={El-Shaikh, Alex and Seeger, Bernhard},
title={Content-based filter queries on DNA data storage systems},
journal={Scientific Reports},
year={2023},
volume={13},
number={1},
pages={7053},
doi={10.1038/s41598-023-34160-5},
url={https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-34160-5}
}@incollection{El-Shaikh2023container,
author={El-Shaikh, Alex and Seeger, Bernhard},
title={DNAContainer: An object-based storage architecture on DNA},
year={2023},
booktitle={BTW 2023},
publisher={Gesellschaft fuer Informatik e.V.},
address={Bonn},
pages={773--795},
doi={10.18420/BTW2023-50}
}@article{El-Shaikh2023smf,
author={El-Shaikh, Alex and Seeger, Bernhard},
title={An Extension of DNAContainer with a Small Memory Footprint},
journal={Datenbank-Spektrum},
year={2023},
doi={10.1007/s13222-023-00460-3}
}@article{El-Shaikh2022random,
author={El-Shaikh, Alex and Welzel, Marius and Heider, Dominik and Seeger, Bernhard},
title={High-scale random access on DNA storage systems},
journal={NAR Genomics and Bioinformatics},
year={2022},
doi={10.1093/nargab/lqab126}
}No publications match your filters.
Academic Work
Invited talk on DNA as an alternative medium for data storage, including cost and long-term viability.
Presented DNAContainer and received the Best Workshop Paper Award at the NoDMC Workshop.
Presented high-scale random access for emerging DNA data storage systems.
NoDMC Workshop, BTW 2023 for DNAContainer: an object-based storage architecture on DNA.
NAR Genomics and Bioinformatics selection for high-scale random access on DNA storage systems.
Mentoring
Technical Range
Get in touch
Software architecture, data systems, or research collaborations.
alex@el-shaikh.com