Shulan Tian

Shulan Tian, Ph.D., M.S., is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics in the Department of Quantitative Health Sciences at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. She serves as an Associate Consultant II in the Division of Computational Biology and leads bioinformatics initiatives in translational research. Dr. Tian is actively involved in major projects such as the Tapestry DNA Sequencing Research Study, which aims to sequence 100,000 participants to advance genomic medicine.

Her educational background includes a Ph.D. and M.S. in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology and Health Informatics from the University of Minnesota, along with specialized training in machine learning from Google and Coursera.

Dr. Tian’s research focuses on leveraging population genomics, electronic health records, and machine learning to improve disease understanding and patient care. Her work spans large-scale genomic data mining, translational research in complex diseases like steatotic liver disease and obesity, cancer bioinformatics for somatic mutation detection, and long-read sequencing analysis in neurodegenerative disorders such as ALS and FTD.

Her recent publications highlight a strong trend in integrating multi-omics data to uncover genetic drivers of disease, with emphasis on machine learning applications in cancer genomics, neurodegeneration, and metabolic disorders. These studies are published in high-impact journals including Hepatology, Nature Communications, and Acta Neuropathologica.

Scientific recognition includes:

• Reviewers' Choice Abstract Winner at the American Society of Human Genetics Conference (2015, 2016, 2019, 2022)
• Data Science Mentorship Award, Center for Individualized Medicine, Mayo Clinic (2020)
• Section Editor, Journal of Medical Internet Research Bioinformatics and Biotechnology (2023–present)
• Associate Editor, Frontiers in Oncology (2021–present)
• Lead Guest Editor, Cancers (2024)

Dr. Tian serves as Principal Investigator for the “Multi-omics Analysis of Obesity” project funded by the Nutrition Obesity Research Program at Mayo Clinic (2024–2025). She collaborates extensively with clinical and basic science investigators across multiple research programs, including the Bioinformatics Core and the Center for Individualized Medicine. While specific students or mentees are not listed, her leadership in data science mentorship and editorial roles indicates active engagement in training and academic service.

Her laboratory and research team are embedded within the Division of Computational Biology, where they develop bioinformatics pipelines for somatic mutation detection, deep phenotyping, and multi-omics integration, particularly supporting cancer and neurodegenerative disease research.