Alexander Titus

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Alexander J. Titus
Titus in 2019
Education
Occupation(s)Biotechnology professional, strategist, entrepreneur

Alexander J. Titus is an American AI and biotechnology expert, strategist, and entrepreneur notable for significant contributions to biotechnology, artificial intelligence (AI), and national security.[1] His expertise in integrating AI with biotechnology and security has distinguished his career in both the public and private sectors.

Early life and education[edit]

Titus pursued his undergraduate studies at the University of Puget Sound, earning a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology. He furthered his education at Dartmouth College, where he completed a Ph.D. in Machine Learning and Bioinformatics.[2]

Career[edit]

Titus's career has been marked by a unique blend of roles across academia, government, and the private sector. His early roles included significant contributions in data science and bioinformatics at Dartmouth College.[3]

Government career[edit]

Titus began his government career at the U.S. Department of Defense as the Assistant Director (later known as Principal Director) of Defense Research & Engineering for Biotechnology.[4][5] He was instrumental in launching biotechnology modernization programs at the DoD and the bioindustrial manufacturing institute BioMADE. He later joined the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI) as its first Chief Strategy Officer, where he developed pandemic response programs and led DoD-funded initiatives.[6][7]

Private Sector Experience[edit]

Titus moved to Google in 2021 as a Strategic Business Executive, leading the Cloud Healthcare & Life Sciences strategy for the public sector,[8] where he played a key role in launching and scaling pandemic response programs across the U.S.[9][10] In 2022, he joined Colossal Biosciences as the VP of Strategy & Computational Sciences after a year on the scientific advisory board,[11] where he led teams in various fields including Genotype-to-Phenotype Data Sciences, AI, Machine Learning, and Bioinformatics Engineering.[12]

Academic Appointments[edit]

Titus's academic appointments include roles as a Principal Scientist at the USC Information Sciences Institute,[13] Research Faculty at the USC Iovine and Young Academy,[14] External Fellow at the International Computer Science Institute in Berkeley, CA,[15] and Affiliate Faculty at the University of New Hampshire.[16]

Contributions to National Security[edit]

Titus has been actively involved in shaping national policy regarding biotechnology and AI.[17] He has held positions on various policy and strategic committees, including the COVID-19 High-Performance Computing Consortium[18][19] and the National Science and Technology Council at the White House.

In 2022, he became a congressionally-appointed Commissioner on the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology, focusing on enhancing the U.S. defense and national security use of biotechnology.[20][21][22] The Commission is set to release its interim report by the end of 2023 and its final report by the end of 2024.

Advisory and Entrepreneurial Roles[edit]

Throughout his career, Titus has served as an advisor to numerous startups and organizations, leveraging his expertise in computational product development and government strategy.[23][24] He also launched the biotechnology publication Bioeconomy.XYZ at the start of the pandemic.

Personal life[edit]

Titus is a native of Hood River, Oregon, where he grew up exploring the wilderness and developed an appreciation for being outdoors. In 2014, Titus, along with his fiancee, set off on a long-distance bicycle ride from Prudhoe Bay, AK, to Tiera del Fuego, Argentina, but did not complete their journey.[25]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Titus, Alexander (2023-12-06). "Written statement of Alexander J. Titus, PhD, Principal Scientist, AI Division, Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Before the U.S. Senate AI Insight Forum "Risk, Alignment, & Guarding Against Doomsday Scenarios"" (PDF). Senator Schumer's Newsroom. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  2. ^ "Alexander Titus – Information Sciences Institute". www.isi.edu. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  3. ^ "Alexander Titus, PhD". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  4. ^ "Dr. Alexander Titus". U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  5. ^ Cumbers, John. ""With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" — Meet Alexander Titus The Department Of Defense's Head Of Biotechnology". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  6. ^ Leader, Michael Cousineau New Hampshire Union (2020-06-20). "Online game looks to stoke interest in regenerative medicine". UnionLeader.com. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  7. ^ "National Technology Roadmap for Pandemic Response and Recovery". ARMI. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  8. ^ "Building cloud into your data strategy delivers higher efficiency". Google Cloud Blog. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  9. ^ "Three Lessons Learned From a Year of COVID-19 Response". Google Cloud Blog. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  10. ^ "Using AI to augment public health services". FedScoop. 2021-05-07. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  11. ^ Preston, Quincy; Seeley, David (2022-03-09). "Mammoth Project: Dallas' Colossal Raises $60M to Advance Genetic Engineering and 'De-Extinction' Technologies". Dallas Innovates. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  12. ^ "Biology Meets Computer Science For Next-Gen Biologics Drug Discovery". www.drugdiscoveryonline.com. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  13. ^ "Alexander Titus – Information Sciences Institute". www.isi.edu. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  14. ^ "Alexander Titus Examines the Power of Artificial Intelligence (and Its Future) || USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy". iovine-young.usc.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  15. ^ "Dr. Alexander Titus Appointed to National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology". www.icsi.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  16. ^ "Alexander Titus". UNH Manchester. 2020-06-17. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  17. ^ "Statements From The Eighth Bipartisan Senate Forum On Artificial Intelligence | U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York". www.schumer.senate.gov. 2023-12-06. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  18. ^ "White House Announces New Partnership to Unleash U.S. Supercomputing Resources to Fight COVID-19 – The White House". trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  19. ^ Brase, Jim; Campbell, Nancy; Helland, Barbara; Hoang, Thuc; Parashar, Manish; Rosenfield, Michael; Sexton, James; Towns, John; Mohror, Kathryn; Shalf, John M. (2022). "The COVID-19 High-Performance Computing Consortium". Computing in Science & Engineering. 24 (1): 78–85. Bibcode:2022CSE....24a..78B. doi:10.1109/mcse.2022.3145608. PMC 9014472. PMID 35582691.
  20. ^ "Armed Services Committees Leadership Announces Selections for National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology". Armed Services Republicans. 2022-03-17. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  21. ^ "Armed Services Committees Leadership Announces Chair and Vice Chair Selections for National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology". www.armed-services.senate.gov. 2022-12-30. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  22. ^ Cooper, Naomi (2023-01-03). "Legislative Leaders Name Members of National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology". Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  23. ^ "About Aanika Biosciences". www.aanikabio.com. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  24. ^ "BioP2P Scientific Advisory Board Members". Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  25. ^ Lapierre, Adam (2014-10-15). "Hood River native Alex Titus, and fiancée, pass through town along epic Pan-American ride". Columbia Gorge News. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
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