The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is one step closer to ending cancer thanks to its new institute that's focused on data science.

MD Anderson’s goal with the new Institute for Data Science in Oncology (IDSO) is to advance collaborative projects that will bring the power of data science to every decision made at the hospital. And now, the IDSO has announced its inaugural cohort of 33 scientists, clinicians, and staff that will bring it to life, joining the already appointed leadership and focus area co-leads.

“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,” David Jaffray, Ph.D., director of IDSO and chief technology and digital officer at MD Anderson, says in a press release.

The focus areas for the IDSO are quantitative pathology and medical imaging; single-cell analytics; computational modeling for precision medicine; decision analytics for health; and safety, quality, and access.

The IDSO Affiliates, as they are known, are a mix of existing contributors to the IDSO and team members who were recruited specifically for their expertise in data science. The affiliates were chosen to fulfill a two-year term, during which they will focus on IDSO projects related to the focus areas above. The diverse roster of professionals includes:

• 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.”