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Franziska Michor (born 1982) is an Austrian computational biologist. She is a professor in the department of data science at the
Dana–Farber Cancer Institute Dana–Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) is a comprehensive cancer treatment and research center in Boston, Massachusetts. Dana-Farber is the founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, Harvard's Comprehensive Cancer Center designated ...
. She serves as Director of the Physical Sciences-Oncology Center and the Center for Cancer Evolution.


Education and early career

Michor was born in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
. Her father was a mathematician and her mother was a nurse. As a child she became interested in mathematics, and was inspired to follow a scientific career that helped others. Michor was an undergraduate student in mathematics and molecular biology at the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...
. She spent a year at the
University of Trieste The University of Trieste (, or UniTS, Formerly Regia Università degli Studi or The Royal University of Studies) is a public research university in Trieste in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in northeast Italy. The university consists of 10 ...
, where she studied medical biotechnology. She moved to the
Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...
as a graduate student, where she worked in theoretical biology. Michor was a doctoral researcher in
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, where she was based in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. Her thesis considered the evolutionary dynamics of cancer. She identified the time required for the genes within cancer cells to mutate and become protective against cancer.


Research and career

Michor completed her doctoral research in less than three years, after which she was made a Junior Fellow in the
Harvard Society of Fellows The Society of Fellows is a group of scholars selected at the beginnings of their careers by Harvard University for their potential to advance academic wisdom, upon whom are bestowed distinctive opportunities to foster their individual and intellect ...
. Her early work considered the development of a mathematical model to study the evolution of cells that lead to the end stage of
chronic myelogenous leukemia Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), also known as chronic myeloid leukemia, is a cancer of the white blood cells. It is a form of leukemia characterized by the increased and unregulated growth of myeloid cells in the bone marrow and the accumula ...
. Specifically, Michor sought to understand why certain patients failed to improve after treatment with Gleevec. Michor was the first researcher to be honoured with the Austrian Scientists and Scholars in North America (ASciNA) award. In 2007, Michor was appointed to the faculty at the
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in Manhattan in New York City. MSKCC is one of 72 National Cancer Institute– designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. Its main campus is ...
, and as assistant professor at the
Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences The Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences (WCGS; originally the Cornell University Graduate School of Medical Sciences) is the graduate school for biomedical science of Cornell University, located in Manhattan, New York City. Prog ...
. Her laboratory consider the evolutionary dynamics of cancer, including its initiation, progression, response to therapy, and emergence of resistance. She moved to the
Dana–Farber Cancer Institute Dana–Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) is a comprehensive cancer treatment and research center in Boston, Massachusetts. Dana-Farber is the founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, Harvard's Comprehensive Cancer Center designated ...
in 2010, where she was promoted to Professor in 2015. Michor is on the steering committee of the
American Association for Cancer Research The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's oldest and largest professional association related to cancer research. Based in Philadelphia, the AACR focuses on all aspects of cancer research, including Basic research, basic, ...
Cancer Evolution Working.


Personal life

Michor is married to Roland G. Fryer Jr., a professor of economics who, at age 30, became the youngest African-American to be given tenure at Harvard University.


Awards and honors

* 2004
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, formerly known as the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and also known as Fred Hutch or The Hutch, is a cancer research institute established in 1975 in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. History ...
Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award * 2005 Elected Junior Fellow of the
Harvard Society of Fellows The Society of Fellows is a group of scholars selected at the beginnings of their careers by Harvard University for their potential to advance academic wisdom, upon whom are bestowed distinctive opportunities to foster their individual and intellect ...
* 2007 Theodosius Dobzhansky Prize of the Society for the Study of Evolution * 2008 Austrian Scientists and Scholars in North America (ASciNA) Award * 2009 Leon Levy Foundation Young Investigator Award * 2010 Gerstner Young Investigator Award * 2012 Alice Hamilton Award * 2012 Speaker at
TEDMED TEDMED is an annual conference focusing on health and medicine, with a year-round web-based community. TEDMED is an independent event operating under license from the nonprofit TED conference. Background , TEDMED staff operates from Stamfor ...
* 2015 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science * 2015
Carnegie Corporation of New York The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Since its founding, the Carnegie Corporation has endowed or othe ...
Great Immigrants Award * 2015 NYSCF - Robertson Stem Cell Prize * 2016 The 36th Annual AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research


Selected publications

* * *


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Michor, Franziska 1983 births Living people 21st-century women scientists Scientists from Vienna Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Computational biologists University of Vienna alumni