Announcing Marina Sirota, PhD as Acting Director of the UCSF Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute

Marina Sirota, PhD will assume the role of Acting Director of the UCSF Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, effective February 12, 2024, as Atul Butte, MD, PhD is temporarily stepping away from his director responsibilities for a few months.

Dr. Sirota is an Associate Professor and Director of Outreach and Advocacy at the Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, as well as Director of the AI4ALL program at UCSF, a program promoting greater diversity and inclusion in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), by inspiring tomorrow’s leaders to know, think about, and use AI ethically.

Dr. Sirota’s research experience spans over 20 years, during which she has co-authored more than 170 scientific publications. Her research interests lie in developing computational integrative methods and applying these approaches in the context of disease diagnostics and therapeutics, with a special focus on women’s health. Dr. Sirota directs the March of Dimes funded Prematurity Research Center at UCSF, with the goals of leveraging data and computation to improve pregnancy outcomes for moms and babies, and co-directs ENACT, an effort to advance precision medicine in endometriosis. The Sirota Lab is funded by several National Institutes of Health, including NIA, NLM, NIAMS, NICHD, Pfizer, as well as the March of Dimes and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

We appreciate Dr. Sirota’s willingness to guide the Bakar Institute during this time. We have no doubt that her history of exceptional research, devotion to mentoring and supporting learners’ development into future scientific leaders, and commitment to diversity and equity in science, will help to further strengthen the reputation of the Bakar Institute as the academic home for those who employ computational methodologies to address topics in health and wellness at UCSF.