Ludmil B. Alexandrov, PhD profile page

Dr. Ludmil B. Alexandrov is professor of cellular and molecular medicine and professor of bioengineering at the University of California, San Diego, where he also serves as deputy director of the Sanford Stem Cell Fitness and Space Medicine Center. His research combines cancer genomics, computational biology, artificial intelligence, and molecular epidemiology to understand the mutational processes that initiate and drive human cancer. Alexandrov pioneered the computational framework for mutational signature analysis, establishing the methods used worldwide to identify and interpret mutational processes from cancer genome sequencing data. His work has revealed the genomic footprints of numerous environmental and endogenous mutagens, including tobacco smoking, air pollution, microbial toxins, ultraviolet radiation, and defective DNA repair pathways, providing new insights into cancer etiology, prevention, and precision oncology. His laboratory develops computational and AI-based methods for analyzing cancer genomes and digital pathology images, with the goal of translating genomic discoveries into clinically useful biomarkers for cancer risk assessment, early detection, treatment selection, and prevention. He currently leads several large international research initiatives, including the Cancer Grand Challenges CAUSE consortium, focused on uncovering the environmental and biological causes of unexplained mutational signatures.