By Sarah Paris

Atul Butte, MD, PhD, director of the Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, has been inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE.) He was elected in recognition of his “outstanding contributions creating a precision medicine roadmap with open access data, enabling the discovery of novel therapeutics and diagnostics.” 

Butte, the Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics, Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, and Epidemiology and Biostatistics, is a leader in advancing precision medicine and data science. A world-renowned expert in medical technology, he joined UCSF four years ago to spearhead the university’s efforts in harnessing the power of “big data.” 

In addition to his roles at UCSF, Butte is chief data scientist for UC Health, representing all six University of California medical schools and medical centers. In that capacity he is championing access and use of the vast data across the system in a safe and respectful manner to generate new discoveries, better outcomes, and a health care system with greater value and equity.

Butte’s election to the AIMBE College of Fellows marks him among the pioneers in the developing field of precision medicine. Data science is the cornerstone of UCSF Precision Medicine, one of Chancellor Hawgood’s four institutional priorities.

“It’s a real honor to be elected into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and join the present cohort of talented UCSF engineers!" Butte said.  "Being based in Silicon Valley, we all understand the importance of engineering solutions for humanity’s problems. Nowhere is the engineering approach needed more than in health and medicine. UCSF is ready to lead in crafting innovations to advance health worldwide.”

Guccione, Kortemme, Link Join College of Fellows, Desai Tapped As President-Elect

The induction ceremony was held during the AIMBE annual meeting at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC, on March 25, 2019. Three other UCSF faculty were inducted:

• Julius Guccione, Jr., PhD, Professor of Surgery and Co-Director, Cardiac Biomechanics Lab, joined the College of Fellows in recognition of his “outstanding contributions to the development, validation and dissemination of a unified foundation for cardiovascular in silico medicine.”
• Professor of Bioengineering Tanja Kortemme, PhD, was reconized for her “outstanding contributions in computational protein design, including energy functions, sampling algorithms, and molecules to rewire cellular control circuits.”
• Thomas Link, MD, PhD, Professor of Radiology and chief of Musculoskeletal Imaging, was reconized "for outstanding contributions to the translation of quantitative imaging in musculoskeletal research in particular osteoporosis and osteoarthritis."

Kortemme and Butte join sixteen UCSF faculty who are current AIMBE Fellows, including Tejal Desai, PhD, chair of the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, who has served as chair of the College of Fellows and was just selected as president-elect, as announced at the meeting. “Beyond recognizing excellence, AIMBE is unique in its commitment to advancing public understanding, showcasing the impact of biologic and medical engineering on society, and serving as a thought leader in public policy," Desai said. “I look forward to serving as the organization’s future president.”