Alex Kotlar

Dr. Alex Kotlar is a geneticist, bioinformatics leader, and technology founder with nearly 20 years of combined experience across life sciences, healthcare, AI, and software engineering.

He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Bystro AI, a platform designed to make large-scale genetic data easy to search and analyse using natural language, similar to how people use Google or ChatGPT.

The core mission of Bystro AI is to remove technical barriers that prevent researchers, clinicians, and organisations from using complex genetic data effectively. The platform allows users to ask plain-language questions and receive fast, accurate results from very large genomic datasets.

Earlier, Alex worked at Pillar Biosciences Incorporated where he led teams responsible for machine learning algorithms, bioinformatic pipelines, data lakes, LIMS systems, and SaaS platforms  focusing on liquid biopsy assay development and interpretable denoising algorithms for cancer diagnostics. 

Alex also worked as a Software Engineer and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and Mass General Hospital, where he contributed to the Hail project and worked in the Neale Lab on large-scale statistical genetics. 

He co-authored the paper “Bystro: rapid online variant annotation and natural-language filtering at whole-genome scale”, published in Genome Biology.

Alex was also a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Emory University, continued PhD research collaborations, and held several technical leadership roles, including Lead Developer at AMRAP4Life, Lead Programmer and DBA at Transmyt Inc, and IT Manager at Newman and Company. He also worked as an IT Consultant at Village Smokehouse and held teaching roles at Boston University.

Alex Kotlar was born into a Ukrainian family that later became refugees following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. This early experience shaped his interest in health, science, and long-term disease risk. Over the years, his family faced several cancer diagnoses, which strongly influenced his personal goal to work in genetics and healthcare. From an early stage in his education, Kotlar focused on biology, computing, and data-driven problem solving, with the aim of improving how diseases are understood and treated.

Alex Kotlar attended Phillips Academy Andover from 2000 to 2004. After completing school, he enrolled at Boston University, where he pursued a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) with a focus on Accounting and Computer Science at the Questrom School of Business. His education spanned from 2004 to 2012, during which he achieved strong academic results and gained experience in both technical and business disciplines.

During this period, he also followed a pre-medical track at Boston University’s College of Arts and Sciences from 2010 to 2012, graduating with a 4.0 GPA in pre-med studies. Alongside his studies, he worked as a Biology Learning Assistant and Teaching Assistant for Biology 107 and Biology 108. In these roles, he supported laboratory teaching, delivered lectures, and contributed to the development of an honours genetics lab course, where he was later credited as a contributing undergraduate editor.

Between 2006 and 2009, Kotlar worked as a Project Assistant at Bain & Company in Boston. He supported research and technology-focused projects, including work related to video conferencing systems and industry research. This experience helped him understand how large organisations use data, systems, and analysis to make decisions.
Alongside his academic path, Alex Kotlar built a strong technical career. From 2005 to 2012, he worked as an IT Consultant for Village Smokehouse, advising the company’s leadership on technology needs. He developed a custom website and led online sales campaigns that directly supported the successful sale of industrial equipment.

From 2010 to 2012, he served as IT Manager at Newman and Company in Boston. In this role, he designed and managed the company’s full IT infrastructure. His work included building and maintaining Windows Server environments, deploying Active Directory, VPNs, remote access systems, and virtualisation technologies. He also explored early cloud services and managed relationships with major technology providers.

Between 2012 and 2014, Kotlar worked as Lead Developer at AMRAP4Life, a social network for athletes. He led front-end and back-end development using PHP, JavaScript, MySQL, and related technologies. He designed core platform features, managed a large production database, improved performance, deployed server infrastructure, and hired and trained team members. During this time, he also worked as Lead Programmer and Database Administrator at Transmyt Inc., leading client-facing web and application projects from planning to deployment.

In 2013, Alex Kotlar began his PhD in Genetics and Bioinformatics at Emory University. His doctoral research focused on statistical genetics, large-scale genomic data analysis, and disease-associated genetic variation. He received the Molecules to Mankind Fellowship, funded by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, which supported interdisciplinary research connecting molecular science with population health.

During his PhD, he collaborated with leading researchers including Michael Zwick, Jennifer Mulle, Thomas Wingo, and David Cutler. His research contributed to studies on schizophrenia genetics, rare variants, and neurobiological pathways. In 2015, he co-authored a review published in the European Journal of Medical Genetics on recent discoveries in schizophrenia genetics.

In parallel, Kotlar developed several research platforms and digital projects. He worked on the Autism Sequencing Consortium and Down Syndrome Consortium websites, handling full technical design, deployment, and hosting. He also developed ConversationsInItaly.com for an Emory University study abroad programme focused on medicine and compassion.

In 2016, he began work on Seqant 2.0, a next-generation genome analysis platform. This project introduced the idea of using natural language search to explore large-scale genetic datasets, a concept that later became central to his future work.

Alex Kotlar completed his PhD in 2018 with a strong academic record and a clear focus on making complex genetic data easier to access and understand.

After completing his PhD, Kotlar joined the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Software Engineer. From December 2018 to October 2020, he worked in the Neale Lab and as part of the Hail development team.

During this period, he contributed to large-scale genomic analysis tools used by researchers worldwide. His work focused on building software systems capable of handling terabyte- and petabyte-scale genetic data efficiently. In 2018, he co-authored the paper “Bystro: rapid online variant annotation and natural-language filtering at whole-genome scale”, published in Genome Biology. This publication introduced Bystro as the first cloud-based platform to allow natural language search across whole-genome datasets, significantly reducing analysis time for researchers.

In late 2020, Alex Kotlar joined Pillar Biosciences Incorporated as a Software Engineer. He quickly progressed to Senior Data Scientist, Senior Manager, and Head of Bioinformatics between 2021 and 2023. He led a team of nine scientists and engineers, focusing on liquid biopsy assay development and cancer diagnostics.

His work included developing interpretable denoising algorithms, variant calling pipelines, multiplex primer design tools, and data management systems. These efforts contributed to improving the accuracy and reliability of cancer diagnostics.

From March 2023 to March 2024, Kotlar served as Associate Director and Head of Software and AI at Pillar Biosciences. In this role, he led customer-facing machine learning systems, bioinformatics pipelines, laboratory information systems, data lakes, and SaaS platforms. He also worked closely with laboratory, business intelligence, and commercial teams to support the launch of new diagnostic products and assess product-market fit.

In March 2024, Alex Kotlar became Co-Founder and CEO of a new venture described publicly as a “Super Mysterious GenAI Life Sciences Company,” closely linked to the evolution of Bystro AI. Building on years of research and software development, Bystro AI aims to make genetic data searchable and usable through natural language queries, similar to how general search engines work for text.

The platform uses grounded and agent-based artificial intelligence to interpret user questions and analyse very large genomic datasets in seconds. The goal is to support researchers, clinicians, and healthcare organisations in making faster and more informed decisions. Kotlar’s stated aim is to create ethical, accessible, and transparent healthcare tools that reduce technical barriers in genetics.

Alongside his company leadership, he continues to support non-profit and academic initiatives. He previously served as Director of Technology for Motherhood Beyond Bars, where he was responsible for all digital infrastructure and platform development.

As of today, Alex Kotlar is the Co-Founder and CEO of Bystro AI, working remotely from the United States. He continues to focus on artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, and large-scale genomic analysis, with the long-term goal of improving access to genetic information and enabling better healthcare outcomes through clear, data-driven tools.

Alex Kotlar’s vision is to make genetic information easy to access, understand, and use for everyone involved in healthcare. He believes that complex genetic data should not be limited to specialists with advanced technical skills. His goal is to allow researchers, doctors, and healthcare organisations to interact with genomic data using natural language, in the same way people use search engines today. By combining bioinformatics and artificial intelligence, he aims to reduce barriers in genetic analysis, speed up research, and support better medical decisions. His long-term focus is on building ethical, transparent, and accessible tools that improve healthcare outcomes worldwide.

Alex Kotlar has received several academic and professional recognitions throughout his career. He was awarded the Molecules to Mankind Fellowship at Emory University, funded by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, which supported interdisciplinary research in genetics and population health. He won First Prize at The Hartford Business Case Competition at Boston University in 2011 for developing a technology-driven business solution. His research has been published in respected journals, including Genome Biology, BMC Bioinformatics, and the European Journal of Medical Genetics. His work on Bystro has been widely recognised for introducing natural language search to large-scale genomic analysis.