Skip to main content
Close
Vilcek Foundation
  • About
    • About

      The Vilcek Foundation raises awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and fosters appreciation of the arts and sciences.

    • Our Mission
    • Board & Staff
    • Press Center
    • Contact
  • Prizes
    • Prizes

      The Vilcek Foundation Prizes are awarded to foreign-born individuals for extraordinary achievement in the arts and sciences.

    • About the Prizes

      Learn more about the Vilcek Foundation Prizes and the prizewinners.

    • Vilcek Prizes

      Awarded to immigrants with a legacy of major accomplishments.

    • Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise

      Awarded to young immigrant professionals who have demonstrated outstanding achievement early in their careers.

    • Vilcek Prize for Excellence

      Awarded to immigrants who have had a significant impact on American society, or to individuals who are dedicated champions of immigrant causes.

    • Prize Recipients
    • Grants for Organizations
  • Art
  • Events
  • News
Sign Up Search
Home > News > Hani Goodarzi: A multidisciplinary approach to cancer biology

Hani Goodarzi: A multidisciplinary approach to cancer biology

News | February 1, 2022
Tags
biomedical science biotechnology computational biology data Iran Princeton University Rockefeller University UCSF
Share this page
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Hani Goodarzi smiles with a cityscape in the background.

Cancer biologist Hani Goodarzi receives the 2022 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for his multidisciplinary approach which incorporates data science, computational biology, and experimentation.

Born in Tehran, Iran, Goodarzi has leveraged his expertise in RNA biology, computational biology, and cancer biology to develop models to study the pathways that drive metastasis. Using this approach, Goodarzi has uncovered several of the molecular and cellular functions that drive metastasis; using his findings he has conceived of new platforms for early cancer detection and treatment.

Mathematical underpinnings

Being part of the first generation of “digital natives” was a core part of what compelled him to pursue a career in science, he says. “My interest in science really stemmed from my interest in technology… really trying to understand the function of mathematics and engineering in the development of technological advances.”

At the University of Tehran, Goodarzi studied biotechnology, fascinated by how data science could be applied to biology. “There is this mathematical underpinning to biological evolution. Game theory is a component of how evolution maximizes behavioral outputs in organisms.”

Hani Goodarzi and a colleague in his lab conducting an experiment.

From Tehran to Princeton

Upon completing his undergraduate studies, Goodarzi made the decision to apply for PhD programs in the United States. He knew that pursuing a research-focused program made it likely that he would not be able to return to Iran—or visit his family—for several years. Student visas for students from Iran at the time were single-entry; any travel back to Iran would have prompted a need to renew his visa—a lengthy and uncertain process. In 2006, Goodarzi arrived in the United States to pursue his PhD at Princeton University; it would be more than 6 years before he returned home to visit his family.

Hani Goodarzi stands in a park with arms folded and smiles.

A computational approach to cancer

At Princeton and in his postdoctoral work at the Rockefeller University, Goodarzi’s research focused on analyzing the cellular and molecular processes that drive metastasis. He was drawn to cancer biology by his passion for data science. “At the time, cancer biologists had started collecting gene expression data from a lot of cancer patients. If you wanted data, that was the place to find it,” he notes. However, “There is no amount of computation or data collection that would make a correlation a causation. In order to actually prove causality, you need to do experiments.”

“Nowadays,” he says, “my work is pretty much split half and half between the work we do on the computational side, both using and developing new ways of looking at data, and applying those understandings to develop new ways of collecting and testing data through experimentation.”

Hani Goodarzi smiles and folds his arms as he talks with colleagues outside.

Science knows no borders

Goodarzi relishes the opportunity that each new project provides him to connect with other experts and to explore different approaches to his research. “What excites me most about my work is the freedom to go where the data leads me. I enjoy interacting and getting ideas from different places and bringing them together,” he says. “You cannot stop the mixing of ideas and ideals.”

Goodarzi is an assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco, and the founder of Exai Bio, a biotechnology venture. Exai Bio’s key product—an RNA-based liquid biopsy platform for early cancer detection—is based on Goodarzi’s research. In December 2021, Exai Bio announced it had raised $67.5 million in financing to accelerate development of the platform.

Tags
biomedical science biotechnology computational biology data Iran Princeton University Rockefeller University UCSF
Share this page
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Related News

March 29, 2022

Katalin Karikó: The sacrifices and successes of immigrant scientists

Amid multiple awards for the development of mRNA vaccines, Hungarian biochemist Katalin Karikó insists that her greatest success has been being able to show up every day for a career she is passionate about.
Katalin Karikó standing in the woods in a beige coat with fur trim.
February 15, 2022

Harris Wang: Using synthetic biology to understand our world

Wang’s creative and independent thinking has established him as a leader in the field of synthetic biology.
Harris Wang smiling as he walks down a street.
March 8, 2021

Mohamed Abou Donia: “How our microbial partners affect our health.”

Mohamed Abou Donia studies small-molecule-mediated interactions in complex microbial communities, and their impact on host health, including humans and other organisms.
Mohamed Abou Donia framed by an archway of one of the Princeton University buildings.

You may also be interested in

Hani Goodarzi

Hani Goodarzi receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for using modeling and computational methods to uncover novel molecular players and pathways and therapeutic targets in cancer metastasis and for developing sophisticated molecular tools for the early detection and monitoring of cancer.
Portrait of Hani Goodarzi

Join our mailing list

Sign Up
Vilcek Foundation
21 East 70th Street
New York, New York 10021

Phone: 212.472.2500

Email: info@vilcek.org

  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Board and Staff
    • Press Center
    • Contact
  • Prizes
    • Vilcek Prizes
    • Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise
    • Vilcek Prize for Excellence
    • Prize Recipients
    • Grants for Organizations
  • Art
  • Events
  • News
  • Careers
Connect with us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Youtube
  • Vimeo
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility Statement
© 2023   Vilcek Foundation