Distinguished Speaker Series

2022 was the inaugural year of the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (IAD) Distinguished Speaker Series. Each year we bring some of the nation's most prominent researchers and innovators from academia, government, and industry to speak on topics of interest to the artificial intelligence, computational science, and data science community in Buffalo.

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Upcoming Speakers

Guru Banavar: A New Approach to Molecular Health for the Global Population

March 29, 2024 | 11:00 a.m. | Dozoretz Auditorium (Room 2200)

Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, 955 Main St., Buffalo, NY

Abstract:

Chronic disease is a major epidemic in the 21st century, with more than 50% of the world population suffering some form of chronic disease leading to lowered quality of life and shorter lives. The vast majority of chronic diseases are due to environmental and lifestyle factors having a major impact on our molecular pathways. At Viome, our mission is to detect disruptions in those pathways as early as possible and provide health insights and interventions that are precisely tailored to individuals to maintain a healthy state. To this end, we have developed a platform that has extracted peta-scale gene expression data from the microbial and human host cells from more than 600,000 non-invasive samples collected at home from individuals in over 100 countries.  We have analyzed this high-dimensional and longitudinal data using AI and ML techniques, discovered a range of host-microbiome biomarkers associated with a range of chronic diseases, derived health insights from these biomarkers, and delivered personalized interventions through a suite of consumer and professional products.  In this talk, I will present how this approach can lead to a new era of molecular health for the global population.

Speaker Bio:

Guru is the founding CTO of Viome Life Sciences Inc, where he leads AI and discovery. Guru’s focus is on analyzing large host-microbiome gene expression datasets (from saliva, blood, stool, & other samples), and discovering biomarkers and identifying therapeutic targets from clinical research studies targeting oral, metabolic, gastrointestinal, and neurological disorders, as well as cancer. He recently led the development of a first-of-a-kind saliva-based early detection system for oral and throat cancers using host/microbiome gene expression, which won FDA’s designation as a breakthrough device, and is now available as a product.

Earlier, Guru was a global VP & Chief Science Officer at IBM and a member of IBM CEO's top executive team. As the founding VP of the Watson AI Research team, he led a team to create breakthrough AI systems that exceed human abilities but also augment human expertise in every domain, from healthcare & education to finance & law. 

Banavar.

Dr. Guru Banavar
Founding CTO, Head of Discovery, AI and Engineering, GM of Diagnostics, Viome Life Sciences

Past Speakers