Eric Polley

Eric Polley is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Chicago, serving as Director of the Biostatistics Laboratory. He leads the Data Science concentration in the Master of Public Health program. Previously, he held roles at the Mayo Clinic and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), where he contributed to the NCI-MATCH clinical trial, earning him the 2015 NCI Director's Award.

Education:

• Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics, Saint John's University (2003)
• Master of Science in Biostatistics, Columbia University (2005)
• PhD in Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley (2010)
• Fellowship in Computational Biology, National Cancer Institute (2012)

Research Interests: Dr. Polley specializes in developing and evaluating prediction models for clinical outcomes, particularly in oncology and precision medicine. His work focuses on diagnostic/prognostic methods, germline variant analysis, and clinical trial design. He has pioneered the Super Learner ensemble prediction methodology and contributed to understanding genetic risk factors in breast and pancreatic cancers.

Key Contributions:

• Leader in integrating machine learning with clinical data (e.g., EHR-based fracture prediction)
• Expert in analyzing germline variants for cancer risk stratification
• Co-developed the NCI-MATCH trial framework for precision oncology

Grants & Labs: Directs the Biostatistics Laboratory, collaborating on genomic studies and clinical trial design. Active in multi-institutional projects addressing cancer disparities and genetic predisposition.