Feinberg’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, or I.AIM, seeks to connect clinicians, researchers and computer scientists across Northwestern’s Evanston campus, the Feinberg School of Medicine and Feinberg hospital system to advance medical research using computational methods.
Launched in 2020, I.AIM aims to study and build artificial intelligence tools to advance clinical practices. The institute has seven research centers that focus on research areas ranging from computational imaging to bioethics.
Feinberg Prof. Dr. Abel Kho, the director of the institute, said he hoped the institute would bridge the gap between the two NU campuses and the Feinberg hospital system. He called the effort a “three-legged stool,” with I.AIM as the connective tissue between each vein.
“That has been a real theme that I keep trying to push for every effort,” Kho said. “It has to find a way to bring these groups together.”
Kho said he hopes to use initiatives like I.AIM and the Northwestern Network for Collaborative Intelligence to create opportunities for interdisciplinary research across the two campuses.
On the education side, Kho said there has been a push to embed data science and AI into Feinberg’s core curriculum. In 2021, Feinberg was one of the first medical schools requiring students to take classes in those disciplines, he said.
Multiple Ph.D. students at Feinberg have also become involved in the institute’s research centers.
Tim Schwirtlich, a third-year Ph.D. candidate in Health & Biomedical Informatics, works with AI at I.AIM to develop systems for patient recognition and identification in order to provide personalized care.
Schwirtlich said he was initially introduced to Kho through a class at Feinberg, and when the time came to choose a research lab, he reached out to Kho. He said he appreciates the vast network the institute provides.
“I.AIM is a fantastic institute because it has such a wide and broad network,” Schwirtlich said. “Not only Abel (Kho), but also several other people working there have fantastic connections not only within Northwestern, but also with industry partners.”
Jenny Ding, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in Feinberg’s Health Sciences Integrated Program program, uses AI to analyze data from patients with inflammatory bowel disease in order to identify pathophysiologically distinct versions of the disease and predict treatment responses.
Her adviser, Dr. Yuan Luo, is the Chief AI Officer at I.AIM, so Ding said it was natural for her to become involved with the institute.
“I.AIM’s goal really aligns with my research interests,” Ding said.
Both Schwirtlich and Ding presented their research at the 2024 American Medical Informatics Association Annual Symposium.
Kho said while the scale of I.AIM allows for more research, it is a challenge to maintain unity across NU’s Evanston and Chicago campuses.
“It takes a lot of activation energy. It takes a real dedication and commitment to try to bridge those campuses,” Kho said. “There are different cultures, oftentimes different levels of students or different types of students.”
The institute also seeks to bring together clinicians who have little experience with technology and computer scientists who are looking to use their skills in the medical field, Ding said.
She said she has even seen people from the Evanston campus reach out to her, hoping to apply their skills through hands-on research.
“I.AIM is very collaborative in nature,” Ding said. “I think what people like Abel and Yuan are trying to do is really bring people together.”
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