About a year after the artificial intelligence initiative began at The Stowers Institute in Kansas City, the research organization added its first AI fellow, Sumner Magruder, with the goal of integrating AI into biological research.
This initiative is being led by Stowers computational biologist Julia Zeitlinger, who saw the opportunity of AI’s use for research almost a decade ago.
“When I saw what AI could do, I was so amazed, and I was immediately converted,” Zeitlinger said. “A lot of people didn't believe in the potential back then, but I think now it's becoming clear. It allows us to put the pieces together of biology and make predictions for things that we haven't seen before.”
Instead of the large chat bots most people are exposed to, Zeitlinger and Magruder can train small AI models in just an hour. Once an AI has data imputed, the researchers can ask it questions and see what patterns it is picking up from DNA and cell regulation.
By using AI, they can analyze data faster — and on a scale that allows them to see new potential conclusions, they said. This could allow researchers to find where disease begins.
Magruder said they are just beginning to discover all the ways AI can be applied.
“It's phenomenal,” Magruder said. “It is truly amazing what AI can do, and I'm incredibly excited to be working with Julia on pushing the limits of what scholars can do at the foundational level.”
- Sumner Magruder, AI fellow at The Stowers Institute
- Julia Zeitlinger, computational biologist at The Stowers Institute
