"I feel totally undeserving to have received the award given all the incredible work that is done at UT. But, of course, I am extremely grateful to UT for providing our team with the best place in the world to pursue the goal of building a mathematical theory to personalize the treatment of cancer. There are very few places in the country that can boast the necessary environment to attack such a problem. To make this happen, you really need access to exceptional skills and resources in mathematical modeling, computational modeling, and clinical oncology," said Yankeelov, professor of biomedical engineering in the Cockrell School of Engineering, who also holds a joint appointment with Dell Medical School.
Yankeelov is internationally recognized for his seminal contributions to the quantitative imaging and mathematical modeling of cancer and translating these techniques into clinical applications. He’s currently working with MD Anderson Cancer Center to test his predictive models in clinical trials and determine how they can be incorporated into patient care. The goal is for this approach to be established by the time the UT medical center opens in partnership with MD Anderson in 2030.
“His work in developing robust models of cancer micro-physiology and biology is at the leading edge of enabling predictions for individual patients to allow for individualized cancer treatments” said Caroline Chung, vice president and chief data and analytics officer at MD Anderson. “He is an outstanding scientist, a gifted educator and a passionate leader dedicated to advancing the field of computational oncology to improve the lives of patients.”
The generosity of the Pandey and Hackett families has enabled the creation of the Joint Center for Computational Oncology (JCCO), a unique collaboration between the Oden Institute, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC). Since its inception, the JCCO has been able to fund over 20 seed projects that are advancing the frontiers of research in Computational Oncology. The support of the Pandey and Hackett families has also initiated the inaugural, joint postdoctoral program between MD Anderson and the Oden Institute.
Yankeelov added, "We are extraordinarily lucky to have the support for the JCCO, as well as from the Oden Institute, TACC, and our colleagues at MD Anderson Cancer Center. It is very exciting to let your mind wander and think of where this research effort will be in five years."
