Dr. Olga Vitek is a distinguished professor whose work bridges computational science and biological discovery through rigorous statistical methodology. She currently serves as a Professor in the Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University, where she also holds affiliation with the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. Her academic journey began with a BS degree from the University of Geneva, followed by MS and PhD in Mathematical Statistics from Purdue University, after which she completed postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Ruedi Aebersold at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle. Prior to her Northeastern appointment, she was a tenured faculty member and University Faculty Scholar at Purdue University, where she held joint appointments in Statistics and Computer Science.
Professor Vitek's research program explores synergies between statistical science and machine learning as applied to large-scale mass spectrometry-based investigations of biological systems. She has pioneered computational methods for statistical experimental design, signal detection in complex mass spectrometry outputs, and causal inference of regulatory events among molecular analytes. Her laboratory's development of open-source software tools including MSstats for protein quantification and Cardinal for mass spectrometric image analysis has provided essential resources that are widely adopted across academic and industrial research laboratories. These contributions have significantly advanced the field of quantitative proteomics, enabling researchers to more effectively analyze molecular changes underlying disease processes and develop targeted therapeutic approaches.
Beyond her technical contributions, Professor Vitek profoundly shapes the proteomics research community through leadership roles and educational initiatives. She serves as President of the Boston Chapter of the American Statistical Association and holds elected positions on the Council of the Human Proteome Organization and the Board of Directors of USHUPO. As a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and Associate Editor for the journal Bioinformatics, she continues to influence methodological standards across disciplines. Her leadership extends to education as lead organizer of the May Institute on Computation and Statistics for Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics, which has trained generations of researchers in computational proteomics methods. Under her directorship of the Barnett Institute of Chemical and Biological Analysis, she is cultivating the next phase of interdisciplinary research innovation at the intersection of analytical chemistry, biology, and data science.
