“Pioneer” Paul Boutros, previously at UC Los Angeles, becomes the first computational biologist to oversee a nationally-designated center.
La Jolla biomedical research institute Sanford Burnham Prebys has named data scientist Paul Boutros, PhD, the new director of its National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center.
Boutros becomes the first computational biologist to oversee an NCI-designated cancer center, a network of 73 basic, clinical and comprehensive centers created as part of the National Cancer Act of 1971.
The cancer center at Sanford Burnham Prebys was established in 1981, and is one of only seven basic laboratory cancer centers in the nation.
Boutros will also hold the titles of senior vice president, data sciences and professor.
Boutros comes to Sanford Burnham Prebys from UC Los Angeles, where he was a professor in the departments of human genetics and urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and interim vice dean for research.
Boutros is known for his work using artificial intelligence, machine learning and computational science to analyze the massive data sets generated by modern cancer research.
Sanford Burnham Prebys
Boutros’ lab and collaborators focus on how the diverse elements of clinical, molecular and imaging data can be linked and leveraged to personalize therapies for cancer patients. Specifically, Boutros seeks to identify biomarkers that can help ensure cancer therapies are selected for maximum benefit and minimum harm.
“Paul is a pioneer,” Dr David A Brenner, Sanford Burnham Prebys president and chief executive, said in a press release. “His work is both expansive and probing. He’s showing how today’s rapidly evolving computational tools can answer questions that were once deemed overwhelming, if not impossible.”
Boutros’ “over-the-horizon thinking” is exciting, Brenner added, noting that data science is becoming a crucial component of cancer research.
Boutros will help Sanford Burnham Prebys accelerate achievements, Brenner said, furthering the cancer center’s mission to answer fundamental questions in cancer biology and use those answers to address unmet clinical needs, conducting original translational studies.
