Technological developments in recent decades have dramatically accelerated the rate at which biological data is generated, leading to exponential growth across biomedical datasets. These data hold enormous potential for new discoveries but require sophisticated and comprehensive infrastructure to maximize their utility. To harness these opportunities, St. Jude launched the Data Science Initiative as part of the St. Jude FY22-27 Strategic Plan, building on existing and successful initiatives like the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project and St. Jude Cloud. The Data Science Initiative seeks to unlock the full potential of the St. Jude community's extensive biological data and resources to establish data science as a pillar of St. Jude research excellence. This initiative will accelerate discoveries, support scientific initiatives, and expand the boundaries of knowledge in understanding pediatric catastrophic diseases.
“The Office of Data Science will strengthen data-sharing between the lab and the clinic, accelerating our progress in finding cures and developing treatments for children with catastrophic diseases.”
James R. Downing, MD St. Jude president and CEO
The Office of Data Science
ODS was established as a dedicated entity to institutionalize and expand data science at St. Jude. It is the institution’s central hub dedicated to facilitating data science activities across campus and integrating these capabilities into various aspects of St. Jude’s scientific and clinical operations and initiatives. ODS collectively addresses research, clinical, operational and administrative challenges to drive data driven discovery, maximizes talent potential, establishes relevant links with academia and industry, engages relevant stakeholders, and enhances the culture of data science at St. Jude.
Mission and vision
The vision of the Office of Data Science is for St. Jude to become a global leader in the application of data science to biological discovery.
The mission of the Office of Data Science is to create a seamless scientific ecosystem at St. Jude where experimental, clinical and data scientists work together effectively to generate new knowledge and advance our understanding of healthy and disease states for preventing, curing or treating pediatric catastrophic diseases.
Advancing data science at St. Jude
Pan-institutional initiatives
Collaborate with key stakeholders to enhance data science capabilities across the institution, ensuring a cohesive and comprehensive approach to integrating data science technologies and methodologies in clinical, research, and operational areas.
Departmental initiatives
Support specialized positions within clinical and research departments to facilitate the integration of cutting-edge methodologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, and other data analysis techniques.
Forward-looking initiatives
Develop innovative computational methods and tools, with a focus on Quantum Computing, AI and Machine Learning, and Large Language Models.
The connective fiber of discovery
Data-intensive approaches continue to advance and power patient care, scientific discovery, operational excellence and global impact. By convening teams and surfacing shared needs, ODS supports coordinated planning that expands what our teams learn, accelerates discovery and improves outcomes. The collaborative nature of ODS ensures that institutional connections are strengthened, common strategies are developed and shared priorities are identified and experience meaningful growth and progress.
“Through this initiative, we aim to create a seamless scientific ecosystem where experimental, clinical and data scientists collaborate effectively to advance our understanding of healthy and disease states.”
J. Paul Taylor, MD, PhD St. Jude executive vice president, scientific director, Department of Cell & Molecular Biology chair and Pediatric Translational Neuroscience Initiative director
The St. Jude KIDS Symposium is an annual event that enriches the collaborative data science culture by sharing and brainstorming ways to gain the most valuable scientific knowledge from biomedical data. This event brings together biologists, clinicians, biostatisticians, computational biologists, bioinformaticians, image analysts, structural biologists, software engineers and others, reflecting the inherently multidisciplinary nature of data science.
The annual St. Jude KIDS BioHackathon is a collaborative event tackling pressing challenges in biomedical data science through innovative, team-based solutions. This hackathon accelerates progress in pediatric research by bringing together multidisciplinary experts including computational biologists, software engineers, clinicians and data scientists.
ODS is a key academic and programmatic partner in the success of the Master of Science degree in Applied Biomedical Data Sciences (MS-ABDS) from the St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (SJGS). From the program’s early stages, ODS has provided its expertise in curriculum development and teaching, ensuring students are well equipped to work thoughtfully and rigorously with complex biomedical data in real-world research environments.
ODS plays a crucial role in enriching future data scientists through mentorship, hands-on learning, fellowship support, study space and professional development opportunities. ODS faculty and staff actively engage in student recruitment and selection, admissions interviews, curriculum review, guest lectures and structured mentorship programs.
