Recognized for contributions to computational biology, and outreach to religious communities
S. Joshua Swamidass, MD, PhD, associate professor of pathology and immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is known for applying machine learning to chemical biology and medicine, and for exceptional public outreach to advance understanding of science among religious communities.
S. Joshua Swamidass, MD, PhDan associate professor of pathology and immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, are among the 505 new members. Fellows appointed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest public scholarly society and publisher of scholarly journals.
Swamidass was recognized for his work applying machine learning to chemical biology and medicine, with a particular focus on drug discovery and how drugs are processed in the body. He has also been recognized for extraordinary public outreach to advance understanding of science among religious communities.
Swamidass has developed artificial intelligence algorithms to investigate how drugs are processed in the body and has shown that such processing plays a key role in the safety, efficacy and dosing of drugs. More recently, in a study of de-identified electronic health records, machine learning was used to identify combinations of medications that, when used together, could cause liver problems. Drug interactions are a leading cause of adverse events in people taking multiple medications, but it is difficult to identify harmful combinations from the more than 20,000 prescription drugs available.
His public outreach advances understanding of human evolution, race, and racism within religious communities. His book of the year 2019,”Genealogy of Adam and EveHe suggests reading the Biblical story of Adam and Eve consistent with evolutionary science. The book also explains scientific problems with polygenic theory, the debunked idea that different races of people arose independently in different parts of the world. This corrupt theory contributes to racism. systemic by expressing inaccurate and disproving ideas about inherent racial differences.
He also served as a consultant for the exhibition “The Bible and Science: Our Universe, Ourselves, Our Place” at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC. The exhibition, which runs until January 2024, explores the role of the Bible in the historical relationship between science and religion.
Swamidass is also an associate professor of biomedical engineering, computer science, and engineering in the university’s McKelvey School of Engineering. He received his bachelor’s, master’s, medical, and doctoral degrees from the University of California, Irvine. He joined the Faculty of Medicine in 2010.