SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING AND IMAGING INSTITUTE
at the University of Utah

An internationally recognized leader in visualization, scientific computing, and image analysis

Dr. Orly Alter

Dr. Orly Alter - Associate Director

USTAR Associate Professor of Bioengineering and Human Genetics at the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute and the Huntsman Cancer Institute
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Background

Orly Alter is a Utah Science, Technology, and Research (USTAR) associate professor of bioengineering and human genetics at the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute1  and the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, a scientific advisory board member of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) -DOE Cancer Moonshot collaboration on predictive oncology, and the chief scientific officer (CSO) and a co-founder of Prism AI Therapeutics, Inc.2,3,4  Alter received her Ph.D. in applied physics at Stanford University and her B.Sc. magna cum laude in physics at Tel Aviv University. Her Ph.D. thesis, which was published by Wiley,5,6,7  is recognized as crucial to gravitational wave detection and quantum computing.8,9,10 

Research Interests

Inventor of the "eigengene,"11,12,13,14  Alter formulates comparative spectral decompositions, physics-inspired15  multi-tensor16,17,18  generalizations19,20,21,22  of the singular value decomposition, to (i) compare and integrate any data types, of any number and dimensions, and (ii) scale with data sizes. Her models (iii) are interpretable in terms of known biology and batch effects and (iv) correctly23  predict24,25,26,27,28  previously unknown mechanisms.29,30  Her prospective and retrospective validation31,32,33,34,35,36  of a genome-wide pattern of DNA copy-number alterations in brain 37,38,39,40  tumors proved that the models discover predictors of survival and response to treatment that are (v) the most accurate and precise, (vi) clinically actionable in the general population based upon as few as 50–100 patients, and (vii) are consistent across studies and over time. She discovered this, and patterns in lung,41,42  nerve,43,44  ovarian,45,46,47,48,49,50  and uterine tumors, in public data. Such alterations were recognized in cancer, yet all other attempts to associate them with outcome failed, establishing that Alter's artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) is uniquely suited to personalized medicine.

  • Precision Medicine World Conference (PMWC) 2024 (Santa Clara, CA, January 24–26, 2024).