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Ha
Gavin Ha, PhD

Gavin Ha, PhD

  • Associate Professor, Herbold Computational Biology Program, Public Health Sciences Division, Fred Hutch
  • Member, Translational Data Science Integrated Research Center (TDS IRC), Fred Hutch
  • Affiliate Investigator, Human Biology Division, Fred Hutch
206.667.2802
206.667.1319

Background

Dr. Gavin Ha is a computational biologist who studies the role of genomic alterations in cancer. He and his research team focus on developing and applying computational methods to profile cancer genomes from patient tumors and blood. His laboratory develops novel approaches to study cell-free DNA released from tumor cells into the blood (also known as circulating tumor DNA). The use of this approach, called “liquid biopsies,” combined with insights from tumor genome analysis, will be critical to uncover causes of treatment resistance, discover novel genetic biomarkers from the blood, and develop non-invasive applications for cancer precision medicine.

We are actively engaging in collaborations with members of Fred Hutch and UW Medicine to study various types of tumors, including prostate, breast, lung or other cancers.

Education

The University of British Columbia, 2014, PhD in Bioinformatics

The University of British Columbia, 2008, BSc in Computer Science and Microbiology

Research Interests

1. Develop novel computational methods to study cancer genomes

2. Study the role of genomic alterations in cancer

3. Application of liquid biopsies in precision medicine

"I find that the best way to think creatively and find new ideas is through collaboration, because I learn so much from others."

— Dr. Gavin Ha

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Stories

All news
A quarter century of lifesaving discoveries in prostate cancer Pacific Northwest Prostate Cancer SPORE insights have transformed patient care and understanding of prostate cancer biology, supported drug discovery worldwide August 12, 2024
Targeted new approach and computational tools reveal lung cancer subtypes hiding in patterns in cell-free DNA Innovative strategy a step toward liquid biopsy to detect, monitor aggressive small cell lung cancer April 10, 2024
New projects advance health equity research Two $1M grants support efforts to pinpoint novel prostate cancer biomarkers, improve clinical trial enrollment and inclusion November 28, 2023