CTSI Annual Forum panel to discuss advancing translational science with AI
Published March 5, 2025
Presentations and a panel discussion on advancing translational science with artificial intelligence (AI), awards for accomplished Buffalo Translational Consortium researchers, and an overview of the latest news from the University at Buffalo Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) are highlights of the 2025 CTSI Annual Forum on Wednesday, March 19.
The forum will be held from 12:45 to 4:45 p.m. in the Murphy Family Seminar Room (5019 A&B) at the Clinical and Translational Research Center on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. See full agenda and register here.
CTSI Director Timothy F. Murphy, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor, says the impact of AI on translational science is a topic on the minds of many researchers. To explore the key issues involved, the Annual Forum will feature a panel of four UB faculty members.
“AI is being used increasingly in healthcare and in clinical and translational research,” Murphy explains. “This panel will highlight exciting examples of how highly accomplished researchers are using AI to advance their pioneering translational research that spans several disciplines. Experts on the panel will also discuss approaches to identifying and mitigating biases and inaccuracies with AI and translational research projects.”
The “Advancing Translational Science With Artificial Intelligence” panel will feature the following speakers:
- Ram Samudrala, PhD, Professor and Chief, Division of Bioinformatics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Co-Director, CTSI Informatics Core: “Leveraging AI for Multiscale Drug Discovery”
Samudrala’s projects leverage artificial intelligence and data analytics to innovate in clinical and translational research and clinical and translational science while ensuring they are beneficially applied to underrepresented populations.
- Marianthi Markatou, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor, Associate Chair of Research and Healthcare Informatics, Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health and Health Professions: “Patient-centered AI: Research Considerations”
Markatou is principal investigator on a project that was recently awarded funding of over $1 million from the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to leverage artificial intelligence to integrate multiple data sources.
- Eun-Hye Enki Yoo, PhD, Professor, Department of Geography, College of Arts and Sciences: “Advancing Geospatial Health Research With AI”
Yoo is a geographer whose research interests include spatial scale issues and error/uncertainty in geographic data. She examines these issues in relation to topics such as population density, air pollution, extreme temperature, greenspace, and human dynamic.
- Scott Doyle, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences: “AI Biases, Privacy and Ethics in Translational Science”
Doyle specializes in building quantitative image and data analysis algorithms for biomedical datasets, and during the last decade has been developing computerized methods to quantify and analyze large medical imaging datasets.
Moderating the panel are Murphy and UB Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (IAD) Director Jinjun Xiong, PhD, SUNY Empire Innovation Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Murphy says Xiong’s work with the IAD is contributing to significant breakthroughs in advancing the promise of true machine intelligence and human-machine partnerships, and also positioning UB as an international leader in creating, curating, and disseminating data and computing-related knowledge and skills.
“The CTSI and IAD have an active partnership. Dr. Xiong, an international leader in the field, is especially skilled at explaining AI and machine learning in ways that are understandable and engaging to those of us who are not experts in AI.”
In addition to the AI presentation and panel discussion, the March 19 CTSI forum will include welcoming remarks from Murphy and UB Vice President for Health Sciences and Dean of the Jacobs School Allison Brashear, MD, MBA; a “State of the CTSI” address from Murphy; and presentations from the winners of 2024 BTC Clinical Research Achievement Awards. The awardees will be introduced by BTC Clinical Research Achievement Awards Committee Chair Anne B. Curtis, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor, Department of Medicine, Jacobs School.
Watch for a recap of the 2025 CTSI Annual Forum on the CTSI website and in an upcoming Translational Spotlight newsletter.