Kord Kober

Kord Kober is a Professor at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) with expertise in systems biology, molecular evolutionary biology, and bioinformatics. His research focuses on elucidating molecular mechanisms underlying cancer-related symptoms (e.g., fatigue, peripheral neuropathy) and neurotoxic side effects through integrative omics approaches.

• Education:
  • BS Biochemistry, UCLA (1996)
  • MA Molecular Evolutionary Biology, UC Santa Cruz (2009)
  • PhD Molecular Evolutionary Biology, UC Santa Cruz (2012)
  • Systems Biology Short Course, UC Irvine (2019)

His work develops predictive models for symptom severity, cloud computing infrastructure for genomic analysis, and open-source tools for molecular phenotype research. Current projects include NIH-funded studies on chemotherapy-related fatigue (R37CA233774) and cloud-based symptom science (R37CA233774-05S1). He emphasizes transdisciplinary collaboration and mentorship for training symptom scientists in genomics and big data analytics.

Research Trends: Recent publications span cancer symptom clusters, epigenetic biomarkers (DNA methylation), neurobiological pathways in cognitive impairment/anxiety, GPU-accelerated genomic tools, and socioeconomic/environmental influences on chemotherapy outcomes. Methodologically, his work integrates multi-omics data (transcriptomics, epigenomics, network pharmacology) with clinical/demographic variables.

Scientific Awards:

• Regents' Fellowship (2006)
• STEPS Institute Graduate Research Grant (2007)
• Friends of Long Marine Lab Award (2007)
• CSHL Meeting Support (2011)
• Myers Trust Research Award (2011)
• American Pain Society Poster Nominee (2013)
• Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer Abstract Awards (2014, 2016, 2020)
• Cancer Nursing Research Award (2020)

Dr. Kober collaborates extensively with teams across oncology, bioinformatics, and nursing science, prioritizing open-access resources for symptom mechanism research and clinical decision support systems.