Charles DeLisi

Who is Charles DeLisi?

Charles DeLisi is the Metcalf Professor of Science and Engineering at Boston University, and also served as Dean of the College of Engineering from 1990 to 2000. Prior to moving to Boston University, he was Professor and Chair of Biomathematical Sciences and Professor of Molecular Biology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Director of the United States Department of Energy's Health and Environmental Research Programs, Section Chief at National Institutes of Health, and Theoretical Division Staff Scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

In 1999 he initiated the Nation's first PhD program in Bioinformatics. With more than 100 Ph.D. alumni in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, the Boston University program remains the largest and one of the most successful programs in the world.

DeLisi was an early champion of the controversial idea that in cell biology, just as in the physical sciences, the mathematical formulation of concepts could predict phenomena that would not otherwise be apparent, and could thereby drive experimental research in new directions. The approach is seen in a number of investigations.