University of California Health Executive Vice President David Rubin, M.D., issued the following statement on the passing of Atul Butte, M.D., Ph.D., UC Health chief data scientist and UCSF Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg distinguished professor; director, Institute for Computational Health Sciences; and professor of pediatrics.

It is with great sadness that we reflect on the passing of Dr. Atul Butte, a remarkable leader whose contributions to our health system and to the field of medicine have been nothing short of transformative.

Dr. Butte was not only a visionary scientist, inventor and entrepreneur, but also a deeply compassionate colleague and mentor. He was recently recognized by the American Medical Informatics Association for his incredible body of work in bioinformatics and computational biology that has revolutionized the way we think about patient care, health data science and personalized medicine. Dr. Butte was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine, in recognition of his outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.

His pioneering efforts in harnessing data to improve health care – including the creation and stewardship of UC Health’s Center for Data-driven Insights and Innovation, where data from across the University of California’s six academic health centers is aggregated to improve the care of our patients and operational efficiencies.– will continue to benefit patients for generations to come. For example, CDI2’s data analytics and partnerships across the UC system have powered health improvements for patients in chronic disease management, such as diabetes and hypertension.

At UCSF, Dr. Butte was the inaugural director of the UCSF Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute and was an early leader in the work of responsibly translating AI models into the health care delivery system. Initiatives from his lab are assisting health care professionals in driving better outcomes for patients, including identifying emergency department patients with the most acute needs. Additionally, programs launched by Dr. Butte to train researchers in data science have led to the publication of dozens of papers that unlock knowledge to help improve the health of people around the world.

Beyond his remarkable achievements, Dr. Butte was known for his dedication to mentoring and supporting the next generation of scientists and clinicians. He leaves behind an invaluable legacy not only through his groundbreaking work but also through the countless individuals he inspired during his career. He was a constant source of encouragement and a role model for so many.

While we mourn his loss, we take comfort in knowing that Dr. Butte’s vision and passion for advancing science and improving patient care will continue to guide us. His influence on our work at UC Health will never be forgotten. 

We extend our heartfelt condolences to Dr. Butte’s family and friends. Our thoughts are with them during this difficult time. He will be deeply missed by all of us who were fortunate enough to know him.