As an AI Fellow, McAnany plans to expand access to deep learning approaches across the Stowers research community, helping Investigators apply advanced computational methods to large and complex datasets from genomics, structural biology, and other areas of research.

“Charles has a rare ability to bridge computational innovation with fundamental biological questions,” said Zeitlinger. “He not only develops powerful AI tools but also helps make them understandable and accessible to other scientists. That combination of creativity, rigor, and collaboration makes him an incredible asset to the Institute and the scientific community at large.”

McAnany joins Sumner Magruder, Ph.D., the Institute’s first AI Fellow who was appointed in fall 2025. The growing program is designed to support early-career scientists pursuing bold ideas at the intersection of AI and fundamental biological research.

“You must always start with a question; everything else flows from that,” said McAnany. “My goal is to build tools that help scientists ask better questions of their data and make those tools accessible enough for others to use.”

The emphasis on making AI not only powerful, but also usable, reflects a broader goal of the Institute’s AI Initiative: to connect computational innovation directly to the questions driving biological discovery.

“Charles brings both curiosity and technical depth to some of the most difficult questions regarding DNA and what makes us who we are,” said Scientific Director Kausik Si, Ph.D. “What goes wrong when disease happens? His ability to look at genomic information through the lens of machine learning is uncovering patterns and principles that, for years, have remained hidden in extremely large, extremely complex amounts of data.”

The AI Fellow program reflects the Institute’s mission to improve human health by generating new knowledge in research that spans neuroscience, infertility, cancer, regeneration, infectious disease and more.

“AI is transforming how we approach science, opening new paths to tackle not just a single question, but many at once,” Sánchez Alvarado said. “By deepening our investment in the AI Initiative, we’re deliberately weaving computation into experimentation, turning complex datasets into actionable insight. This is allowing us to confront some of the most difficult challenges in the life sciences that have for too long been beyond the reach of traditional tools.”

About the Stowers Institute for Medical Research

Founded in 1994 through the generosity of Jim Stowers, founder of American Century Investments, and his wife, Virginia, the Stowers Institute for Medical Research is a non-profit, biomedical research organization with a focus on foundational research. Its mission is to expand our understanding of the secrets of life and improve life’s quality through innovative approaches to the causes, treatment, and prevention of diseases.

The Institute consists of 24 independent research programs. Of the approximately 500 members, over 370 are scientific staff that include principal investigators, fellows, technology center directors, postdoctoral scientists, graduate students, and technical support staff. Learn more about the Institute at www.stowers.org and about its graduate program at www.stowers.org/gradschool.

Media Contact: 
Joe Chiodo, Director of Communications 
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