Biography
Dr. Avinash "Avi" Sahu is a multidisciplinary researcher and Assistant Professor in the Division of Translational Informatics, Department of Internal Medicine, at the University of New Mexico. With over 13 years of research experience, he holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Maryland and National Institute of Human Genome Research Institute. He completed his postdoctoral training at Harvard and Dana Farber Cancer Institute, where he developed a cutting-edge research program.
Personal Statement
Dr. Sahu's work is situated at the intersection of data science, machine learning, cancer immunology, and precision oncology. He is dedicated to developing artificial intelligence (AI) methods to identify novel therapeutic strategies for advanced cancers. His critical discoveries include the identification of bipotent drugs, AI techniques in predicting patient responses to immunotherapy, and the discovery of synthetic rescue mediators of resistance to targeted and immunotherapy (Cancer Discov (2023) 13 (3): 672-701; Mol Systems Biology (2019) 15(3): e8323; Nat Commun (2015) 6:8555), Nat Commun (2019))
His expertise has earned him several prestigious awards, such as the Michelson Prize by the Human Vaccines Project, the K99 Young Investigator Award from the National Cancer Institute, and recognition as one of the 40 most promising young Cancer Immunology scientists by the Irving Foundation. He is leading the development of an AI-based precision oncology predictor to determine shared vulnerabilities across tumor clones for each ovarian cancer patient.
Dr. Sahu collaborates with leading academic labs and pharmaceutical companies to develop new treatments for advanced cancer patients. He is also passionate about mentoring young students, particularly those from challenging backgrounds, believing that dedication, hard work, and passion can help anyone overcome adversity and achieve great things.