Ali Khammanivong

Ali Khammanivong is a senior research scientist focusing on data science and machine learning. He is also a founder and chief scientific officer of a startup diagnostic company, Oncodea.

Ali received his MS from Johns Hopkins University in 2006 and PhD from the University of Minnesota in 2011. He joined the Dickerson lab as a post-doc in 2011 and has worked extensively with the Modiano lab, collaborating on various projects. His involvement in the work with the Modiano lab more recently has been in the development of disease detection models using machine learning.

Ali’s basic research interest is understanding the mechanisms behind drug resistance and disease progression in head and neck cancer, and, more specifically, the role of cancer stem cells in these tumors. He has a strong research background in molecular biology and bioinformatics of cancer, focusing more specifically on the analysis of molecular pathways and pattern recognition associated with the development and progression of solid tumors. His research and technical expertise include (but are not limited to) big data analysis and molecular target discovery, 3-D in vitro organotypic tumor model for tumor microenvironment and metastatic invasion analyses, in vivo orthotopic tumor model, RNA sequencing, proteomics, CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, and biomarker discovery for early disease detection.

Ali enjoys working on projects that have the potential for translation into clinical settings. Outside work, he enjoys spending time with his family, taking road trips, and exploring exotic foods, music, and nature.

To email Ali, click here.

(Updated 04/13/2023)