Thomas Stoeger

Postdoc

Bio

Thomas considers the unknown to be the most intriguing part of biology and believes that many promising avenues for research in human health are currently unexplored. To understand where and why biomedical research can miss promising new research directions, he contrasts the findings of thousands of distinct large-scale experiments with around hundred of different data sources that quantify and integrate most aspects of biomedical research – including the chemical properties of proteins, the careers of all scientists, the content of all biomedical publications, and historic documents. In particular, he applies these insights towards opening novel research directions for understanding and ultimately mitigating human aging.

Having previously trained in developmental biology and high-content image-based biology, Thomas joined Northwestern University as a Data Science Scholar of the Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems and the Center for Genetic Medicine in the spring of 2016. He enjoys research that crosses different scientific traditions such as data science and science of science. He was recently awarded a Pathway to Independence Award of the National Institutes of Aging, and will pursue this line of research in his laboratory. If you would like to get involved, don’t hesitate to already reach out to him. See interviews with him in The Scientist and Science, or a summary of his present work in The New York Times, The Atlantic, and The Economist, or an interview in the Spotlight series of Northwestern’s Graduate School.

Education

• Ph. D. Systems Biology, University of Zurich, Switzerland (2016)
• M. Sc. Molecular Biology, University of Vienna, Austria (2008)

Awards and Honors

• Best PhD Thesis of the Faculty of Science (Annual Award), University of Zurich, Switzerland (2016)
• Most tweeted bioRxiv preprint of preceding 7 days, (as tracked by https://www.rxivist.org) (2019)
• K99 Pathway to Independence Award, National Institutes on Aging (2020)