Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program
Stanford DBDS is an academic research department at Stanford School of Medicine that combines biomedical informatics, biostatistics, and AI to advance precision health. It trains graduate students and postdocs, develops proprietary AI models (CIBERSORTx, SEQUOIA, AI-assisted tumor boards), and engages industry partners through a tiered affiliate program.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersPalo Alto, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program does
Stanford's Department of Biomedical Data Science (DBDS) is an academic research unit within Stanford University School of Medicine, founded in 2015 and headquartered at the Stanford campus in Palo Alto, CA. The department merges biomedical informatics, biostatistics, computer science, and AI to advance precision health, leveraging multi-scale data including molecular, tissue, imaging, EHR, biosensory, and population datasets. Core research outputs include proprietary models such as CIBERSORTx, CytoTRACE 2, SEQUOIA, scGPT-based single-cell embeddings, spatial single-cell aging clocks, and AI-assisted tumor boards, plus the first experimentally validated AI-generated antibiotic molecule. The department operates on four concurrent tracks: graduate education (PhD, MS, co-terminal, postdoctoral, plus an online certificate through Stanford Online), federal research funding (ARPA-H, NIH/NLM, NSF, NIDA), training programs (NLM T15, Warren Alpert CBAI Scholars), and an External Engagement Program offering Tier One Affiliate memberships at $40,000/year and Tier Two Center of Excellence affiliations at $275,000/year with partners including IBM, AWS, Google, Microsoft, Genentech, GRAIL, 10X Genomics, and Accenture.
DBDS derives recurring revenue from a two-tier subscription-style affiliate program, project-based funding from a large base of federal grants, and donations/endowed funds (such as the $100,000 Darlene Vian Memorial Fund). The 2024 $8.9M ARPA-H award for AI tumor board research exemplifies its federal funding traction, while the annual Collaboration & Careers Forum (52 organizations in 2026, up 30%+ year-over-year) anchors community-led go-to-market. Select downstream collaborators include Stanford Health Care, Stanford Medicine Children's Health, GRAIL, Genentech, and 10X Genomics, where DBDS-trained scientists and AI methods are applied to clinical decision support, multi-cancer early detection, and single-cell genomics. Business model is therefore best categorized as a hybrid academic-commercial model: training and federally funded research on one side, monetization through industry affiliate memberships, sponsored research, and consulting on the other.
Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program
- Legal name
- Stanford University School of Medicine - Department of Biomedical Data Science
- Website
- https://dbds.stanford.edu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Stanford DBDS is an academic research department at Stanford School of Medicine that combines biomedical informatics, biostatistics, and AI to advance precision health. It trains graduate students and postdocs, develops proprietary AI models (CIBERSORTx, SEQUOIA, AI-assisted tumor boards), and engages industry partners through a tiered affiliate program.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Academic Biomedical Data Science Research and Education
- NAICS
- Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Scientific Data Management & Data Platforms (SDMS/Data Lakehouse for R&D) (HLAGAJAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Healthcare Data Lakes, Lakehouses & Cloud Warehouses (HLACAIAA), SaMD – Imaging & Signal Analysis (AI/ML) (HLACANAG), Digital & AI-Enabled Diagnostics (algorithmic interpretation, decision support tied to assays) (HLAAALAO)
Keywords
Where Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Palo Alto
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Research Grants and Federal Funding: DBDS receives significant funding from federal agencies including ARPA-H ($8.9M for AI tumor board research), NSF, NIH/NLM (NLM T15 training grant, NRSA fellowships), and NIDA for specific research projects
- External Partnerships and Affiliate Program: Two-tier affiliate program: Tier One at $40,000 annual membership providing thought-leadership, recruiting access, and research connections; Tier Two at $275,000 for Center of Excellence partnerships in Precision Health, Multimodal Data, and Computational Biology
- Donations and Endowed Funds: Gifts from alumni and donors supporting student activities, including Darlene Vian Memorial Fund ($100,000 endowed), Biomedical Data Science Gift Fund for pizza lunches, retreats, and student support
- Strategic Collaborations: Sponsored research projects, seed grants, consulting arrangements, curriculum development, and in-kind donations from strategic partners like IBM, Bain, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, 10X Genomics
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Tier One Affiliate Membership - $40,000 annual |
| Subscription | Annual | Tier Two Center of Excellence Affiliation - $275,000 annual |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels8 records
Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Stanford DBDS is an academic research department offering graduate degree programs (PhD, MS, Co-Terminal, Honors Cooperative) and an online certificate in Biomedical Data Science, training future research leaders in biomedical informatics, biostatistics, AI/ML, and computational methods. The department conducts research and develops AI-driven tools for precision health—spanning AI-assisted tumor boards, pathology foundation models, CIBERSORTx, generative AI drug discovery, and multimodal foundation models—and connects industry, government, and academia through its External Engagement Program (Affiliate membership tiers), annual Collaboration and Careers Forum, and mentored industry partnerships.
Product overview
Stanford's Department of Biomedical Data Science (DBDS) is an academic research department at Stanford University School of Medicine, not a commercial product company. DBDS's offerings consist primarily of graduate education programs (PhD and MS degrees in Biomedical Data Science, plus an online graduate certificate), research resources (Data Studio), professional development programs (Industry Mentoring Program, External Engagement Program), and collaborative events (annual Collaboration and Careers Forum, Generative AI Workshops, AI Frontiers Summit). The department conducts research across biomedical informatics, biostatistics, and AI/ML for precision health, developing research tools and methodologies rather than commercial products.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Data Studio: A resource center providing data science support and collaboration space
- Workshop in Biomedical Data Science
- AI in Health Training
- Center I: Precision Health & Pharmacogenomics (PGx)
- Center II: Multimodal Data Integration
- Center III: Computational Biology and AI
Products and services
- Biomedical Data Science Graduate Program PhD and Master's degree programs in Biomedical Data Science training future research leaders to design and implement novel quantitative and computational methods for biology and medicine, including Academic Research MS, Co-Terminal Stanford undergraduate, and Honors Cooperative MS tracks.
- Online Biomedical Data Science Graduate Certificate Graduate certificate program in Biomedical Informatics Data Modeling and Analysis delivered through Stanford Online for remote learners seeking biomedical data science methodology training.
- Warren Alpert Computational Biology and AI (CBAI) Scholars Program Scholars program supporting trainees in computational biology and AI research at DBDS, including an annual research symposium and core faculty community.
- DBDS External Engagement Program (Affiliate Program) Two-tier industry partnership program offering annual memberships—Tier One at $40,000 and Tier Two Centers of Excellence at $275,000—providing industry partners with thought leadership, recruiting access, faculty liaison connections, research partnerships, advisory council participation, and Center affiliations in Precision Health and Pharmacogenomics, Multimodal Data Integration, or Computational Biology and AI.
- Collaboration and Careers Forum Annual forum connecting leaders from companies, government agencies, and organizations with DBDS faculty, students, and postdocs to discuss AI, data science, and precision healthcare advancements through lightning talks, career fairs, and industry panels.
- Generative AI Workshops Workshops bringing together interdisciplinary teams to ideate on generative AI applications in healthcare challenges, including Epic Cosmos Hackathon, d.School design-thinking frameworks, responsible AI panels, and VC engagement.
Quantifiable outcome
- First ARPA-H award ($8.9M) for AI tumor board research
- +8 more outcomes
Companies that use Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability15 records
Feature8 records
Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- ARPA-H (Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health)coreARPA-H awarded $8.9 million to Stanford DBDS to fund development of AI-augmented support tools for cancer tumor boards. Multi-disciplinary teams of clinicians collaborate to review data on cancer patients and determine optimal treatment courses using multimodal foundation models.
- Epic CosmoscoreEpic Cosmos dataset with over 250M patient records provides Stanford researchers opportunity to explore nationwide data. DBDS Professor Nigam Shah serves on Epic Cosmos Advisory Council. DBDS faculty including Roxana Daneshjou obtained Data Architect certification for SQL queries.
- IBMmajorStrategic collaborator providing technology partnerships, research collaboration, and industry engagement with DBDS
- Bain & CompanymajorStrategic collaborator in consulting and research partnerships, panel discussions on AI in healthcare
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)majorAWS provides cloud infrastructure and technology partnership for DBDS research and compute needs
- GooglemajorGoogle participates in collaboration forums and provides technology partnerships for AI research. Scott Penberthy serves as Director of Applied AI at Google and engages with DBDS.
- MicrosoftmajorMicrosoft provides technology partnerships including Azure cloud services. Matthew Lungren (formerly Stanford, now Microsoft) bridges academic-industry collaboration. Eric Horvitz (CSO Microsoft, DBDS alumnus class of 1990) participates in DBDS events.
- 10X Genomicsmajor10X Genomics CEO Serge Saxonov (DBDS alumnus) returns for collaboration forums. Company engages in recruiting and research discussions with DBDS community.
- Gladstone InstitutesmajorCollaborative research partner in biomedical data science and AI applications in healthcare
- AccenturemajorTier One Affiliate member engaging in thought leadership, recruiting, and research connections. Co-hosted Executive AI Summit on Healthcare and Medicine with DBDS in April 2025.
- Boehringer IngelheimmajorTier One Affiliate member participating in industry collaboration and recruiting through DBDS external engagement program
- CareDxmajorTier One Affiliate member engaging in transplant diagnostics research and industry partnerships with DBDS
- RegeneronmajorTier One Affiliate member in pharmaceutical/biotechnology sector engaging with DBDS research community
- VeracytemajorTier One Affiliate member in genomic diagnostics engaging with DBDS for research collaboration and recruiting
- Genentech/RochemajorSarah McGough (Principal Data Scientist) establishes research projects with DBDS faculty including Rob Tibshirani, James Zou. Aïcha BenTaieb serves as Principal AI Scientist at Genentech. Multiple alumni work at Genentech.
- GRAILmajorJeffrey Venstrom (CMO) participates in DBDS panels. GRAIL develops multi-cancer early detection tests using machine learning, aligning with DBDS research in AI diagnostics.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Recursion Pharmaceuticals: AI-driven drug discovery company that combines high-throughput biology with foundation models — a commercial counterpart to DBDS's generative AI for drug discovery (e.g., the Zou-lab AI-generated antibiotic) and competes for the same talent pool.
Direct peers
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai — Institute for Genomic Health: Mount Sinai's genomics-and-AI institute combines EHR-linked biobank research with machine learning for precision medicine — directly comparable to DBDS's multimodal data integration work.
- Harvard Medical School Department of Biomedical Informatics: Harvard's flagship biomedical informatics academic department, with overlapping scope in AI for healthcare, EHR-based research, genomics, and precision health. Most direct academic peer to Stanford DBDS.
- UCSF Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute: UCSF's institute for computational health sciences, working at the intersection of clinical data, AI, and precision medicine — directly comparable to DBDS's research and training mission.
- Columbia University Department of Biomedical Informatics: Columbia's DBMI covers clinical informatics, translational bioinformatics, and AI for healthcare, with strength in EHR data and population health — a close functional peer to Stanford DBDS.
- MIT CSAIL / Abdul Latif Jameel Clinic for Machine Learning in Health: MIT's primary computational medicine research hub, focused on AI/ML for clinical decision support, biomedical imaging, and population health — directly comparable to DBDS's AI/precision-health agenda.
- University of Pennsylvania Institute for Biomedical Informatics: Penn's biomedical informatics institute with overlapping foci in translational bioinformatics, AI/ML methods, and graduate training — a same-tier academic peer competing for federal grants and trainees.
- University of Washington Department of Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education: UW's BMI department combines biomedical informatics with medical education, with active research in clinical AI and translational bioinformatics — a comparable academic peer in the same elite tier.
- Johns Hopkins Department of Biomedical Informatics: Top-tier academic biomedical informatics program with parallel research in clinical NLP, translational bioinformatics, and AI in healthcare; competes with DBDS for the same NIH/NSF funding and faculty talent.
- Vanderbilt University Department of Biomedical Informatics: Vanderbilt's BMI department is a leading academic biomedical informatics program with strengths in clinical informatics, NLP, and AI — directly comparable in scope and training mission.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program social profiles
Digital presenceStanford Biomedical Data Science Program financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program
What does Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program do?
Stanford DBDS is an academic research department offering graduate degree programs (PhD, MS, Co-Terminal, Honors Cooperative) and an online certificate in Biomedical Data Science, training future research leaders in biomedical informatics, biostatistics, AI/ML, and computational methods. The department conducts research and develops AI-driven tools for precision health—spanning AI-assisted tumor boards, pathology foundation models, CIBERSORTx, generative AI drug discovery, and multimodal foundation models—and connects industry, government, and academia through its External Engagement Program (Affiliate membership tiers), annual Collaboration and Careers Forum, and mentored industry partnerships.
Is Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program a public or private company?
Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program founded?
Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program based?
Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program is headquartered in Palo Alto, United States, in the North America region.
How does Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Research Grants and Federal Funding is the primary driver. The others are external Partnerships and Affiliate Program, donations and Endowed Funds and strategic Collaborations.
Who are Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program's main competitors?
Recursion Pharmaceuticals is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai — Institute for Genomic Health, Harvard Medical School Department of Biomedical Informatics, UCSF Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, Columbia University Department of Biomedical Informatics, MIT CSAIL / Abdul Latif Jameel Clinic for Machine Learning in Health, University of Pennsylvania Institute for Biomedical Informatics, University of Washington Department of Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education, Johns Hopkins Department of Biomedical Informatics and Vanderbilt University Department of Biomedical Informatics.
Does Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program have an API?
No public API is recorded for Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program.
What industry is Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program in?
Stanford Biomedical Data Science Program's product category is Academic Biomedical Data Science Research and Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAJAC, Scientific Data Management & Data Platforms (SDMS/Data Lakehouse for R&D), with a secondary code of HLACAIAA, Healthcare Data Lakes, Lakehouses & Cloud Warehouses. Its NAICS code is 5417 and its SIC code is 8731.