Transforming Cancer Treatment Through Digital Innovation

Cancer affects 1 in every 3 people. Yet for decades, the standard approach to treating cancer has followed a one-size-fits-all model. Tom Yankeelov wants to change that.

Yankeelov, director of the Center for Computational Oncology at the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering & Sciences and W.A. "Tex" Moncrief, Jr. Chair in Computational Engineering and Sciences, received the 2026 President's Research Impact Award at The University of Texas at Austin's annual Celebration of Research. The award recognizes researchers whose work has fundamentally changed lives and perspectives.

Yankeelov and his team at the Center for Computational Oncology build mathematical models that describe how individual tumors initiate, grow and respond to therapy, drawing on routine clinical data such as MRI scans to track tumor size, blood flow and cell behavior.

The goal is to be able to create a personalized digital twin for each patient, a virtual model to predict how a tumor will respond to different treatment approaches and provide clinicians with data to modify or adapt a patient's treatment for the best possible outcome.

"Unless you have a mathematical theory underneath the hood, you're left with trial and error," said Yankeelov, who is also a professor of biomedical engineering in the Cockrell School of Engineering. "If you can mathematize the system, then you can predict the optimal way to intervene."

His team has applied this approach to brain, breast, prostate, cervical, and head and neck cancers, with the ambition of eventually extending it to nearly any solid tumor. The research is already moving beyond the lab.

"Being able to work with people at the Texas Advanced Computing Center, the medical school and at MD Anderson gives us the opportunity to get our research out of the academic ivory tower onto main street where most patients get their care," Yankeelov said.

The commitment to real-world impact is evident in Yankeelov's work.

"It's not enough for him to just do excellent research. He wants to go above and beyond and really make a difference in the world," said Karen Willcox, director of the Oden Institute and professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics.

Yankeelov understands what improvements in cancer treatment can mean for a patient.

"You can make it to a grandchild's next birthday. You can make it to the next graduation. You can make it to a wedding," Yankeelov said. "We hope that our technology can achieve some of those goals."