Marina Sirota

Marina Sirota is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine and the Acting Director at the Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute. She leads the UCSF March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center and co-directs ENACT, a center focused on precision medicine for endometriosis. Dr. Sirota is also the founding director of the AI4ALL program at UCSF, which introduces high school girls to AI applications in biomedicine.

Education:

• B.S. in Biomedical Computation, Stanford University (2006)
• M.S. in Biomedical Informatics, Stanford University (2006)
• Ph.D. in Biomedical Informatics, Stanford University (2010)

Dr. Sirota's research focuses on developing computational integrative methods for disease diagnostics and therapeutics, with special emphasis on women's health. Her work spans biomedical informatics, integrative genomics, clinical data analysis, immune informatics, and data science. She applies advanced computational approaches to understand complex biological systems and translate findings into clinical applications, particularly in the areas of preterm birth, endometriosis, and Alzheimer's disease.

Her recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on precision medicine applications across multiple disease areas including women's health, neurodegenerative disorders, and immunology. Dr. Sirota frequently employs cutting-edge techniques like single-cell genomics, transcriptomics, and AI-driven approaches to analyze complex biological data. Her research shows particular strength in sex-specific analyses and the application of computational methods to understand disease heterogeneity.

Scientific Awards:

• AMIA Young Investigator Award (2017)

Dr. Sirota has secured significant research funding from multiple sources including NIA, NLM, NIAMS, Pfizer, March of Dimes, and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Her current projects include studies on endometriosis, preterm birth, Alzheimer's disease, and immune-related disorders. She mentors numerous students and researchers in computational health sciences and has co-authored over 170 scientific publications. Her laboratory actively collaborates with clinical and basic science researchers across UCSF and other institutions.

Dr. Sirota directs the Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute at UCSF and leads multiple research centers focused on women's health, including the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center and ENACT (Endometriosis: Novel Clinical Approaches Through Technology). Her team combines expertise in bioinformatics, machine learning, clinical medicine, and basic science to advance precision medicine approaches for complex diseases.