Alexander Titus

Alexander J. Titus
Titus in 2019
Education	University of Puget Sound (BS, BA) Dartmouth College (PhD)
Occupation(s)	Biotechnology professional, strategist, entrepreneur

Alexander J. Titus is an American expert in AI, biotechnology, and national security, known for his contributions in these fields. ^[1]

Early life and education

Titus earned a BS in biochemistry and a B.A. in biology from the University of Puget Sound and a Ph.D. in machine learning and bioinformatics from Dartmouth College. ^[2]

Career

Titus’s career spans academia, government, and the private sector, starting with roles in data science and bioinformatics at Dartmouth College. ^[3]

Titus served as assistant director of biotechnology at the U.S. Department of Defense, ^[4] leading modernization efforts and helping establish BioMADE. Later, as ARMI’s chief strategy officer, he oversaw pandemic response programs and DoD initiatives. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

Titus has worked at Google as a strategic business executive, leading cloud healthcare & life sciences strategy and pandemic response for the public sector, ^{[8] [9] [10]} and as VP of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at Avidity Biosciences. ^[11]

Titus's academic appointments have included roles as principal scientist at the USC Information Sciences Institute, ^[12] Research Faculty at the USC Iovine and Young Academy, ^[13] External Fellow at the International Computer Science Institute in Berkeley, CA, ^[14] and Affiliate Faculty at the University of New Hampshire. ^[15]

In 2022, Titus became a U.S. Senate-appointed Commissioner on the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology, focusing on enhancing the U.S. defense and national security use of biotechnology. ^{[16] [17] [18]} The Commission released its interim report in December 2023, ^[19] and its final report on April 8, 2025 ^[20] recommending the U.S. government invest $15 billion into the biotechnology industry across six strategic pillars. ^[21]

Titus writes about the co-evolution of technology, public policy, and society at The Connected Ideas Project. ^[22]

References

1. Titus, Alexander (2023-12-06). "Written statement of Alexander J. Titus, PhD, Principal Scientist, AI Division, Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Before the U.S. Senate AI Insight Forum "Risk, Alignment, & Guarding Against Doomsday Scenarios"" (PDF). Senator Schumer's Newsroom . Retrieved 2023-12-07.
2. "Alexander Titus – Information Sciences Institute". www.isi.edu. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
3. "Alexander Titus, PhD". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
4. "Dr. Alexander Titus". U.S. Department of Defense. Archived from the original on 2024-10-08. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
5. Cumbers, John. ""With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" — Meet Alexander Titus The Department Of Defense's Head Of Biotechnology". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
6. Leader, Michael Cousineau New Hampshire Union (2020-06-20). "Online game looks to stoke interest in regenerative medicine". UnionLeader.com. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
7. "National Technology Roadmap for Pandemic Response and Recovery". ARMI. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
8. "Building cloud into your data strategy delivers higher efficiency". Google Cloud Blog. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
9. "Three Lessons Learned From a Year of COVID-19 Response". Google Cloud Blog. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
10. "Using AI to augment public health services". FedScoop. 2021-05-07. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
11. "Avidity Biosciences Company Profile | Management and Employees List". Datanyze. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
12. "Alexander Titus – Information Sciences Institute". www.isi.edu. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
13. "Alexander Titus Examines the Power of Artificial Intelligence (and Its Future) || USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy". iovine-young.usc.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
14. "Dr. Alexander Titus Appointed to National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology". www.icsi.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
15. "Alexander Titus". UNH Manchester. 2020-06-17. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
16. "Armed Services Committees Leadership Announces Selections for National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology". Armed Services Republicans. 2022-03-17. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
17. "Armed Services Committees Leadership Announces Chair and Vice Chair Selections for National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology". www.armed-services.senate.gov. 2022-12-30. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
18. Cooper, Naomi (2023-01-03). "Legislative Leaders Name Members of National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology" . Retrieved 2023-11-20.
19. "December 2023 Interim Report". Biotech. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
20. Hopkins, Jared S. "China's Biotech Advances Threaten U.S. Dominance, Warns Congressional Report". WSJ. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
21. "Home". Biotech. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
22. Titus, Alexander. "The Connected Ideas Project | Alexander Titus | Substack". www.connectedideasproject.com. Retrieved 2025-04-09.