Jeff Leek

Jeff Leek is the Vice President and Chief Data Officer at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Fred Hutch), where he leads data science initiatives and fosters collaborations within the Seattle tech ecosystem. He holds the title of Affiliate Professor in the Biostatistics Program within the Public Health Sciences Division at Fred Hutch. He is also a member of the Translational Data Science Integrated Research Center (TDS IRC) and the J. Orin Edson Foundation Endowed Chair. His research focuses on developing statistical methods and tools for genomic and biomedical data analysis, alongside contributions to open data science education through online platforms.

Leek earned his PhD in Biostatistics from the University of Washington (2007), an MS (2005), and a BS in Mathematics from Utah State University (2003). He leads the Leek Lab, which specializes in translational data science and cancer research. His educational efforts include creating widely adopted data science courses and partnering with nonprofits to advance data-driven public health and economic development initiatives.

He is actively involved in scientific leadership, serving as a bridge between computational resources and biomedical researchers at Fred Hutch. His work emphasizes ethical data sharing, software development (e.g., R packages), and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations to accelerate cancer research and data-driven healthcare solutions.