The Institute for Data Science in Oncology (IDSO) at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center announced the appointment of its inaugural cohort of IDSO Affiliates. These 33 talented scientists, clinicians and staff bring diverse expertise to help IDSO leadership and focus area co-leads advance collaborative data science projects and align the institute’s efforts with MD Anderson’s mission to end cancer.
“We are proud to welcome these exceptional individuals to the growing IDSO community, and we look forward to the collaborative work ahead of us,” said David Jaffray, Ph.D., director of IDSO and chief technology and digital officer at MD Anderson. “By engaging diverse expertise across all of our mission areas, we will enhance the rich and productive data science ecosystem at MD Anderson to deliver transformational impact for patients.”
IDSO was launched to integrate the most advanced computational and data science approaches with MD Anderson’s leading scientific and clinical enterprise, significantly improving patients’ lives by transforming cancer care and research.
The affiliates were identified based on their existing contributions to IDSO or were recruited to MD Anderson specifically for their data science expertise. Affiliates are approved for a two-year term based on their qualifications, alignment with, and commitment to IDSO projects and focus areas. The inaugural IDSO Affiliates include:
- Kadir Akdemir, Ph.D., assistant professor of Neurosurgery
- Lee Andrews, executive director of Clinical & Research Solutions
- Janna Baganz, director of Enterprise Data Engineering & Analytics
- Emily Barnhill, associate vice president of Strategic Industry Ventures
- Arjun Bhattacharya, Ph.D., assistant professor of Epidemiology
- Kristy Brock, Ph.D., professor of Imaging Physics
- Joseph Butner, Ph.D., assistant professor of Radiation Oncology
- Laurence Court, Ph.D., professor of Radiation Physics
- Christopher Flowers, M.D., division head of Cancer Medicine
- David Fuentes, Ph.D., associate professor of Imaging Physics
- Andy Futreal, Ph.D., chair of Genomic Medicine
- Audra Hagan, director of Data Impact & Governance
- John Hazle, Ph.D., chair of Imaging Physics
- Kenneth Hu, Ph.D., assistant professor of Immunology and assistant member of the James P. Allison Institute
- James Incalcaterra, Ph.D., vice president of Finance & Analytics
- Jack Lee, Ph.D., professor of Biostatistics
- Han Liang, Ph.D., professor of Bioinformatics & Computational Biology
- John Lin, M.D., assistant professor of Health Services Research
- Lorna McNeill, Ph.D., chair of Health Disparities Research
- Nicholas Navin, Ph.D., chair of Systems Biology
- Tucker Netherton, Ph.D., assistant professor of Radiation Physics
- Jay Patel, executive director of Data Integration & Software Architecture
- Stephanie Schmidt, Ph.D., data science group leader in Genomic Medicine
- Kenna Shaw, Ph.D., executive director of the Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy
- Yu Shen, Ph.D., professor of Biostatistics
- Shawn Stapleton, Ph.D., director of Data Impact & Governance
- Iakovos Toumazis, Ph.D., assistant professor of Health Services Research
- Linghua Wang, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Genomic Medicine
- Wenyi Wang, Ph.D., professor of Bioinformatics & Computational Biology
- John Weinstein, M.D., Ph.D., chair of Bioinformatics & Computational Biology
- Scott Woodman, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Genomic Medicine
- Jia Wu, Ph.D., assistant professor of Imaging Physics
- Chengyue Wu, Ph.D., assistant professor of Imaging Physics
“Our affiliates bring expertise, perspectives and commitment from across the institution to foster impactful data science in order to tackle the most urgent needs of our patients and their families,” said Caroline Chung, M.D., director of Data Science Development and Implementation for IDSO and chief data officer at MD Anderson. “People and community are at the heart of our efforts, and establishing the IDSO Affiliates is an exciting step in growing the most impactful ecosystem for data science in the world.”