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Alexandrov’s research focuses on understanding the information hidden in large-scale omics datasets. He is particularly interested in elucidating the mechanisms by which cancers develop and in leveraging this knowledge for the development of better cancer prevention strategies and the improved targeting of existing cancer treatment. Throughout the past five years, Alexandrov has predominately focused on creating the concept of mutational signatures, on demonstrating the utility of mutational signatures in understanding human cancer, and on identifying mutational signatures in a plethora of diverse cancer types.

Capsule Bio:

Ludmil Alexandrov is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and the Department of Bioengineering at the University of California San Diego. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Neumont University and received a Master’s of Philosophy in Computational Biology as well as a Ph.D. in Cancer Genetics from the University of Cambridge.

Alexandrov’s research has been focused on understanding the mutational processes in cancer. In 2013, he developed the first comprehensive map of the mutational signatures in human cancer. More recently, Alexandrov mapped the signatures of clock-like mutational processes operative in normal somatic cells, demonstrated that mutational signatures have the potential to be used for targeted cancer therapy, and identified the mutational signatures associated with tobacco smoking.

Alexandrov has more than 70 publications in peer-reviewed journals, of which more than 20 publications are in Nature, Science, or Cell. During the past few years, Alexandrov received multiple awards for his work on mutational signatures in human cancer.  Most recently, he was awarded the 2018 Early Career Award by the International Academy for Medical and Biological Engineering. Alexandrov is also one of six co-investigators leading the Mutographs of Cancer project, an initiative that seeks to fill in the missing gaps to identify the unknown cancer-causing factors and reveal how they lead to cancer.

Selected Publications: