I am interested in monitoring, understanding, and preventing the processes that cause human cancer. Previously, I developed the concept of mutational signatures, which I used to reveal the mutational processes in human cancer. My research is based on developing novel mathematical models, implementing these models into computational tools, and applying these tools to already existing biological datasets. If awarded a Packard Fellowship, I propose to develop three novel computational tools and apply these tools to large-scale existing omics data to answer three specific questions in cancer biology: (i) How does alcohol cause cancer? (ii) How can we identify and monitor environmental mutagenic exposures in healthy individuals? (iii) Can we reconstruct and accurately time the molecular evolution of a metastatic cancer? Successfully answering any of these three questions will have wide-spread implications for public health as well as for cancer prevention and cancer treatment.