Summit Speaker

Eric A. Stahlberg

Director of Cancer Data Science Initiatives at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research

Eric A. Stahlberg, Ph.D., is director of cancer data science initiatives at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR) where he spearheads efforts to advance the application of predictive modeling for health and wellbeing with a particular emphasis on digital twin approaches. He joined FNLCR in 2011 to launch and direct the bioinformatics core for the NCI Center for Cancer Research before undertaking an NCI-funded initiative in 2014 on applications of high-performance computing (HPC) in cancer research. His efforts were instrumental in establishing the collaboration between the NCI and the US Department of Energy on the joint design of advanced computing solutions for cancer. His efforts were instrumental in the formation of the Accelerating Therapeutics for Opportunities in Medicine (ATOM) public-private collaboration, an innovative effort involving multiple national laboratories, academia, and industry to dramatically speed discovery of new drugs and development disease treatments by integrating predictive and generative AI approaches, advanced computing, and experimental data into an open platform.

Dr. Stahlberg earned his doctorate in quantum chemistry from the Ohio State University having obtained bachelor’s degrees in computer science, chemistry, and mathematics from Wartburg College. His post-doctoral experience at Argonne National Laboratory and subsequent efforts at Cray Research helped lay the foundation for his career at the intersection of cutting-edge HPC and life sciences. His work in massively parallel computing applications in chemistry received recognition with honorable mention for the Intel Grand Challenge competition.

Dr. Stahlberg’s commitment to standards-enabled innovation is exemplified with significant contributions to the HPC field and now sits on the technical steering committee for OpenFL, an Intel supported effort to develop open standards for federated machine learning. Dr. Stahlberg has a significant and sustained track record of working at the intersection of biology and data-intensive computing to deliver impactful outcomes to diverse stakeholders. His track record includes over 50 publications. He has developed cutting-edge bioinformatics software as well as innovative solutions for data management, AI model management, and information delivery.

His professional service has included co-founding the Computational Approaches for Cancer workshop at the annual SC supercomputing conference, the HPC Applications of Precision Medicine workshop at the annual ISC conference in Germany, the Ohio Collaborative Conference on Bioinformatics, and the 2016-2018 meeting series Frontiers of Predictive Oncology and Computing. He played a critical leadership role in the 2020-2021 NCI-DOE Predictive Oncology meeting series, including initial workshops and meetings on cancer patient digital twins and precision radiation oncology.

Dr. Stahlberg’s focus on innovation has been cultivated in a diverse set of organizations including working for established companies as well as several startup ventures in areas of medical visualization, computational drug discovery, and developing software for wireless medical devices receiving FDA 501K approvals. His visionary perspective and inclusive approach lead to frequent opportunities as an invited presenter and panelist. With a strong commitment to education and knowledge exchange, Dr. Stahlberg frequently serves as an instructor and lecturer at colleges and universities where he shares his experiences and insights with tomorrow’s future scientific leaders.

Dr. Stahlberg has been recognized as one of the FCW top 100, received the President’s award from Frederick National Laboratory, and has received the distinguished alumni award from his alma mater, Wartburg College.

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