Simon Tavaré

Simon Tavaré is a Professor in the Departments of Statistics and Biological Sciences at Columbia University and Director of the Irving Institute for Cancer Dynamics. He holds affiliations with the Program for Mathematical Genomics. His research focuses on computational statistics, bioinformatics, and evolutionary approaches to cancer biology. Tavaré’s work integrates statistical methods with genomic data analysis, particularly in studying cancer genomics, tumor evolution, and therapeutic resistance.

Education: PhD in Probability and Statistics from the University of Sheffield (1979). Key career milestones include roles at the University of Southern California (Kawamoto Chair in Biological Sciences), University of Cambridge (Director of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute), and his current position at Columbia since 2018. He has been recognized with prestigious awards, including Fellowship of the Royal Society and election to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

Research interests include statistical inference in cancer genomics, mutational signatures, and single-cell sequencing technologies. His lab develops computational tools for analyzing genomic diversity and tumor heterogeneity, with applications to esophageal adenocarcinoma, glioblastoma, and prostate cancer. Notable contributions include the CamGFR model for renal function estimation in cancer patients and advancements in approximate Bayesian computation methods.

Grants and collaborations span institutions like the National Institutes of Health and Cancer Research UK. He leads interdisciplinary teams exploring the intersection of mathematics, biology, and medicine. His work emphasizes translating genomic insights into clinical diagnostics and therapeutic strategies.