The scientific and medical communities have lost a visionary leader in biomedical informatics with the passing of Atul Janardhan Butte on June 13, 2025, at the age of 55. As the Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg Distinguished Professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Dr. Butte’s groundbreaking work revolutionized how we approach biomedical research, data analysis, and healthcare innovation. His death marks a significant loss to the fields of computational biology, pediatrics, and biotechnology, but his legacy continues through his pioneering contributions, entrepreneurial ventures, and mentorship.
Born in Philadelphia to Janardhan and Mangala Butte, Atul J. Butte’s journey into medicine and science was characterized by a relentless pursuit of knowledge and a passion for leveraging technology to improve human health. His academic path began at Brown University, where he studied computer science, laying the foundation for his future work at the intersection of data science and medicine. As a member of Brown’s Program in Liberal Medical Education, he was guaranteed acceptance to Brown’s Alpert Medical School, where he earned his MD in 1995.
Following his medical training, Dr. Butte specialized in pediatrics and pediatric endocrinology at Children’s Hospital Boston, gaining clinical expertise that would inform his later research. His academic credentials were further bolstered by a Ph.D. from the Harvard–MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, supervised by prominent researcher Dr. Isaac Kohane. His doctoral work centered on computational approaches to biomedical problems, exemplifying his commitment to integrating data science with healthcare.
In 2005, Dr. Butte transitioned to Stanford University, where he quickly established himself as a leader in systems medicine and biomedical informatics. As Chief of the Division of Systems Medicine at Stanford School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, he combined his clinical background with computational expertise to advance personalized medicine and disease understanding. His roles as an associate professor of pediatrics, computer science, and immunology & rheumatology underscored his interdisciplinary approach.
In 2015, Dr. Butte moved to UCSF, where he became the inaugural director of the Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute. His appointment exemplified his reputation as a pioneer in harnessing big data to transform healthcare. His leadership at UCSF focused on developing innovative computational tools and fostering collaborations across disciplines to accelerate biomedical discovery.
Dr. Butte’s research was characterized by an innovative use of publicly available biomedical data, a concept he famously discussed in a TEDMED talk in 2012. His lab developed techniques that allowed researchers to uncover new insights by analyzing vast datasets, reducing the reliance on traditional wet-lab experiments. This approach not only accelerated discovery but also democratized research, enabling scientists worldwide to make breakthroughs with limited resources.
His scholarly impact is reflected in his impressive h-index of over 110 and more than 70,000 citations, marking him as one of the most highly cited researchers in biomedical informatics. He authored one of the first books on microarray analysis, “Microarrays for an Integrative Genomics,” which remains influential in the field. His work laid the groundwork for integrating genomics, bioinformatics, and clinical data to develop personalized treatment strategies and diagnostic tools.
Beyond academia, Dr. Butte was an accomplished biotech entrepreneur. He founded two companies—Personalis and NuMedii—that aimed to apply artificial intelligence and data analytics to drug discovery and precision medicine. His entrepreneurial ventures reflected his commitment to translating scientific insights into tangible healthcare solutions, bridging the gap between research and clinical application.
Throughout his career, Dr. Butte received numerous accolades recognizing his contributions to science and medicine. In 2013, the White House honored him as an Open Science Champion of Change, acknowledging his efforts to promote open data and transparency in research. His election to the National Academy of Medicine in 2015 further cemented his status as a leader in biomedical sciences. Other honors include fellowships with the International Society for Computational Biology (2021), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2022), and prestigious awards like the Award for Excellence in Molecular Diagnostics (2024) and the Morris F. Collen Award of Excellence (2024).
Dr. Butte’s personal life was rooted in his family. He lived in Menlo Park with his wife, Gini Deshpande—a prominent biotech executive and cancer biology researcher—and their daughter. His brother, Manish J. Butte, is also a respected pediatrician at UCLA, reflecting a family deeply committed to advancing medicine.
His passing leaves a profound void, but his legacy endures through the countless researchers, clinicians, and entrepreneurs he mentored, the innovative tools he developed, and the paradigm shifts he catalyzed in biomedical research. As the Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg Distinguished Professor at UCSF, his influence will continue to shape the future of healthcare and data-driven medicine.