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Harvard PhD · Founder · AI for Science

Tianhao
Luo

Building AI systems
to understand disease mechanisms and translate them into clinically actionable insights.

Boston, MA Harvard Biomedical AI Startup Founder
Tianhao Luo — Harvard PhD in Biomedical Informatics and AI for Science researcher
Currently
Training multi-modal foundation models @ Mahmood Lab Building stealth AI startup on probiotics Scaling MedJourney with X-Lab Based in Boston · Open to collaborators Training multi-modal foundation models @ Mahmood Lab Building stealth AI startup on probiotics Scaling MedJourney with X-Lab Based in Boston · Open to collaborators
Tianhao Luo in Paris

At the intersection of
AI & biomedicine

I am a Harvard PhD student in Biomedical Informatics working at the frontier of AI for science and biomedical AI. I build multi-modal foundation models to understand disease mechanisms and translate them into clinically actionable insights.

I am also a founder of AI startups in biomedicine — MedJourney (Alzheimer's care) and a stealth AI biotech designing next-generation probiotics. Previously, I graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with triple degrees in Statistics (Wharton), Mathematics, and Computational Biology. Beyond the lab, I am a violinist of 13 years and an avid runner.

Recent Updates Live

Apr 2026
Fellowship

Awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP) with a focus on AI for Life Sciences. Grateful to advisors, collaborators, and reviewers!

Apr 2026
New Role

Started stealth AI startup building AI-designed probiotics — more details coming soon.

Mar 2026
New Role

Joined Dr. Faisal Mahmood's lab at Harvard Medical School / BWH to work on multi-modal foundation models for AI virtual patients.

Academic Foundation

Harvard HMS

Harvard Medical School

2025 — Present

PhD in Biomedical Informatics

Rotation advisors: Omar Abudayyeh & Jonathan Gootenberg, Kun-Hsing Yu, Faisal Mahmood

Penn Wharton

University of Pennsylvania

2021 — 2025

B.S. Statistics, The Wharton School

B.A. Mathematics & Computational Biology, College of Arts & Sciences

Summa Cum Laude · Beta Gamma Sigma

Minors in Computer Science & Data Science

Harvard Research in AI for Science

Selected experiences developing biomedical AI — multi-modal foundation models, virtual cells, and virtual patients — across Harvard Medical School labs.

Mar 2026 –
Present

Multi-Modal Foundation Model for AI Virtual Patients

Mahmood Dr. Faisal Mahmood · Harvard Medical School / BWH
Dec 2025 –
Mar 2026

AI Virtual Cell Using Generative Modeling

Abudayyeh Drs. Omar Abudayyeh & Jonathan Gootenberg · Harvard Medical School
Sep 2025 –
Dec 2025

Generalizable Multi-Agent System for Spatial Proteomics

Yu Dr. Kun-Hsing Yu · Harvard University
Apr 2025 –
Aug 2025

Understanding Single-Cell Transcriptional Responses to Drug Perturbations

Pranav Dr. Pranav Rajpurkar · Harvard University
Sep 2022 –
May 2025

Integrating Foundation Models to Rectify Batch Effects in Spatial Transcriptomics

Li Dr. Mingyao Li · University of Pennsylvania
Aug 2023 –
May 2025

RNA Modification in A. thaliana via Nanopore Direct RNA Sequencing

Brian Dr. Brian Gregory · University of Pennsylvania
Jun 2023 –
Aug 2023

Improving Interpretability of CNNs for Single-Cell Chromatin Accessibility

Koo Dr. Peter Koo · Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (NSF REU)
May 2022 –
Aug 2022

Automated Quantitative Trait Locus Analysis Using Auto-ML

Jason Dr. Jason Moore · Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Professional Experience

Machine Learning Fellow
OpenAI
Aug 2025 — Present · Remote

Advancing reproducibility standards for state-of-the-art ML research through rigorous evaluation rubrics and model assessments.

OpenAI
Summer VC Fellow, Life Science
LiquidMetal Ventures
Jun 2025 — Aug 2025 · Boston, MA

Due diligence on AI-driven drug discovery startups; organizing expert salons at the Boston-Cambridge biotech hub.

LiquidMetal

Startups & Entrepreneurial Work

As a Harvard PhD student and founder, I build AI startups at the intersection of biomedicine and science — applying generative models and foundation models to real human-health problems.

MedJourney

Founder · Jul 2025 – Present

AI-powered voice-first companion for Alzheimer's patients. AdventureX 1st Prize winner; incubated by Tsinghua X-Lab with Meiling Scientist Fellowship.

Stealth AI Startup

Founder · 2026 – Present

Building AI-designed probiotics — leveraging generative models and microbiome foundation models to engineer next-generation living products. More details coming soon.

Selected Works

Yuan, M., Jin, K., Yan, H., Luo, T. et al. Designing Smart Spatial Omics Experiments with S2Omics. (2025) Accepted at Nature Cell Biology.
Freda, P.J., Ghosh, A., Luo, T., et al. Automated quantitative trait locus analysis (AutoQTL). BioData Mining 16, 14 (2023). doi:10.1186/s13040-023-00331-3
Luo, T. & Koo, P. Deciphering the Genetic Code behind Single-Cell Chromatin Accessibility: Interpreting scBasset (2023). [Poster] Research Exposition, University of Pennsylvania.
Luo, T. & Li, M. Integrating Foundation Models to Address Batch Effects in Spatial Transcriptomics Analysis (2024).
  • Poster at MidAtlantic Bioinformatics Conference
  • Poster at Harvard Quantitative Genomics Conference
  • Oral Presentation at Rice University Gulf Coast Symposium

Instruction

Let's connect

Open to research collaborations, startup conversations, and new connections.

Tianhao Luo playing violin