Sorena Nadaf-Rahrov, MS, MMI, PhDc

Chief Digital Strategy & AI Data Innovation Officer

Cancer Center Informatics Society

Since co-founding the Cancer Center Informatics Society (Ci4CC) in 2012, Sorena has volunteered as Chief Executive and Acting Chief AI, Data, and Digital Strategy Officer. He leads the Cancer Center Initiatives Program, fostering collaborations in clinical research, artificial intelligence, data science, and biomedical informatics. This program connects Designated Cancer Centers, biotech firms, pharmaceutical companies, and community oncology institutions nationwide.

A nationally recognized leader in precision oncology, translational research, clinical trial innovation, and applied data science, Sorena specializes in digital transformation across healthcare and research. His expertise lies in developing strategic solutions to improve patient outcomes, clinical care, and informatics infrastructure. In 2024, he has been at the forefront of applying AI to revolutionize oncology practices.

Sorena has held leadership roles in informatics, data science, and IT at some of the nation’s top health systems. From 2015 to 2021, he served as Senior Vice President & Chief Informatics/Data Officer at City of Hope, where he established the Center for Informatics and led all initiatives in clinical and research informatics, data science, and digital health innovation. He co-led the launch of the City of Hope Center for Precision Medicine and designed the strategy for POSIEDON, an interoperable data ontologies platform that remains in production today. Additionally, he played a key role in City of Hope’s acquisition of TGen and developed the enterprise roadmap for its cancer registry program, clinical trial management, and the transition to the Epic EMR system.

Before City of Hope, Sorena spent nearly a decade at UCSF as Associate Director and Chief Informatics Officer of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, where he founded the Translational Informatics Program, integrated diverse data systems, and helped establish the Institute for Computational Health Sciences. Prior to UCSF, he spent over 12 years at Vanderbilt University as the inaugural CIO and Director of Clinical and Biomedical Informatics for the Vanderbilt-Ingram Comprehensive Cancer Center, contributing to the Thoracic Oncology Program led by Dr. David Carbone and working as a bench scientist.

After stepping away from the health system space in 2021, Sorena served as interim Chief Data and Informatics Officer at the Alliance for Clinical Trials Cooperative Group before joining IntegraConnect, a company focused on community oncology, where he currently serves as Chief Strategy Advisor for Precision Oncology.

Sorena remains deeply engaged in NCI-Designated Cancer Center External Advisory Boards, national health system strategy initiatives, and key review committees. He serves on the editorial boards of Experimental Biology and Medicine and JCO Clinical Cancer Informatics and was a recent member of the CodeX Steering Committee. A longstanding AACI member, he previously served on its Clinical Research Steering Committee and has been recognized as one of the Top 50 Healthcare IT Influencers in 2007, 2015, and 2017.

As a co-founder of Ci4CC, Sorena played a pivotal role in shaping its mission to advance applied informatics and digital technology in cancer care and biomedical research. Initially focused on NCI-Designated Cancer Centers, Ci4CC has since evolved into a leading national cancer information network, expanding its reach to community hospitals, oncology programs, pharmaceutical companies, and key industry leaders in IT and biotechnology.