Researchers at WashU Medicine have received nearly $800,000 from the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot program, a collaborative initiative by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Microsoft. This funding is designated for the development of AI tools aimed at enhancing the efficiency of biomedical research, particularly focusing on Alzheimer’s disease.
The grant will support the Consortium for Biomedical Research and AI in Neurodegeneration (C-BRAIN), under the leadership of Randall Bateman, MD, the Charles F & Joanne Knight Distinguished Professor of Neurology, and Eric Landsness, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of neurology. They aim to create an “AI Scientist” system intended to elevate the efficiency and effectiveness of Alzheimer’s research. Despite significant investments over the years, 99% of drug candidates targeting Alzheimer’s have failed to demonstrate benefits in clinical trials.
The primary aim of the AI Scientist system is to consolidate and interpret critical knowledge about Alzheimer’s disease that is currently scattered across millions of research papers and extensive datasets, some of which remain unpublished. As the amount of information continues to grow, there is an urgent need for innovative and efficient analytical methods. The envisioned AI “teammate” can quickly identify substantial connections within vast quantities of data, and automate tedious and time-consuming tasks, ultimately conserving valuable time and energy for researchers.
The AI Scientist will comprise three interconnected components:
- An AI literature synthesizer that will review existing published research, clinical trial reports, and other relevant data to identify patterns and propose various hypotheses related to neurodegeneration.
- An AI data analyzer that will evaluate these proposed hypotheses against existing research findings and datasets.
- An AI reviewer that will offer peer-review-style critiques of the hypotheses, experimental results, and interpretations.
Human scientists will continuously assess and refine each output to ensure its accuracy. The findings from this project will be disseminated publicly through publications, code, and data resources.
This grant also includes collaboration among members of WashU Medicine Neurology, the WashU Research and Development Office, the WashU Digital Intelligence & Innovation Accelerator, along with several external partners.
Originally published on the Department of Neurology website
