Dr. Euan Ashley

Euan Ashley is a physician-scientist specializing in precision medicine, genomics, and cardiovascular medicine. Ashley graduated with first-class honors in physiology and medicine from the University of Glasgow in Scotland, then completed his medical residency and a DPhil at the University of Oxford before moving to Stanford University, where he studied genetics, data science, and completed subspecialty training in cardiovascular medicine.

Ashley is the Roger and Joelle Burnell Professor of Genomics and Precision Health and a professor of cardiovascular medicine, genetics, and biomedical data science at Stanford. He serves as chair of the Department of Medicine at Stanford, the university's largest department, with 15 divisions, more than 800 faculty, 500 trainees, and 1,200 academic and administrative staff.

Ashley led the team that carried out the first medical interpretation of a human genome. The work, published in The Lancet, established a general framework for the medical analysis of a complete human genome. This analysis was reported in international news media and later featured in the Smithsonian museum. Ashley's team developed tools to analyze the genomes of the first patient family sequenced, completed the first whole genome molecular autopsy, made the first genetic diagnosis using long read sequencing, and helped establish genome sequencing as a routine part of patient care worldwide. Ashley and his research team developed ultra-rapid nanopore genome sequencing for critically ill patients, published in the New England Journal of Medicine and Nature Biotechnology, demonstrating that a genetic diagnosis from whole genome sequencing was possible in as little as 7 hours and 18 minutes. This achievement was recognized by Guinness World Records as the fastest DNA sequencing technique.

Ashley has contributed to the intersection of artificial intelligence and medicine. His team works on AI applications including generative protein and DNA models for genetic therapy design, cellular morphology models, multimodal models to support clinical decision-making, and generative models for individualized behavioral health interventions. Ashley leads the My Heart Counts Cardiovascular Health Study, launched in collaboration with Apple, which became the fastest recruiting medical study in history. He has advised governments including those of the United States, United Kingdom, and several Asian nations on precision medicine, as well as senior leadership at Apple, Google, and Amazon on digital health. Ashley also co-directs Stanford's biomedical innovation-translation program, Catalyst, and has co-founded seven biotechnology companies. He serves as a non-executive director of AstraZeneca, chairing the Board Science Committee.

Ashley has received honors including the National Innovation Award from the American Heart Association, the NIH Director's New Innovator Award, recognition from the White House for contributions to personalized and precision medicine, and the American Heart Association Medal of Honor for Genomics and Precision Medicine. He worked with the Office of Science and Technology Policy on programs such as the Precision Medicine Initiative (All Of Us) and the Frontiers science and technology conference. Ashley has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and was inducted into the National Academy of Medicine.

Ashley is the author of the popular science book "The Genome Odyssey," which has been reviewed by international press including Wall Street Journal and Times of London, and translated into multiple languages. He is a founding editorial board member of NEJM AI and has reviewed the impact of AI on cardiology and molecular medicine. Ashley is recognized for his ability to communicate complex topics in genomics and artificial intelligence to broad audiences, contributing to the advancement of 21st-century medicine.