University of Maryland Launches AI Center

The University of Maryland Strategic Partnership recently announced the launch of a new institute that will leverage recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and computing to diagnose, prevent, and treat diseases in patients across the state.

Dubbed the University of Maryland 3 – Institute for Health Computing (UM-3-IHC), it will create a premier learning health care system that evaluates both de-identified and secure digitized medical health data when it opens in 2023.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore, (UMB) and the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), is leading the effort in data-driven biomedical innovation in collaboration with the University of Maryland Medical System and Montgomery County, Maryland.

“We are witnessing an unprecedented revolution in health care that is being driven by biomedical innovation, the digitization of medical records, and advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence,” said UMB President Bruce Jarrell. “This new institute will include all of these elements in a synergistic effect that will transform our health care system.”

According to the press release, the UM-3-IHC will incorporate emerging technologies to study diseases and establish precision patient care. For example, poorly controlled diabetes, high blood pressure, risk of opioid overdose, and early kidney disease can be identified by trending changes in lab tests. These efforts, they said, will lead to improved care for patients.

“Our vision is for this to become the East Coast Silicon Valley for health computing,” said Mark Gladwin, UMB’s vice president for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine.

He continued, “The goals of this new institute perfectly align with the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s new strategic vision to utilize disruptive technology and embrace and harness the power of clinical analytics and precision medicine to enhance patient care and provide population health services.”

Laboratory and office space for UM-3-IHC is set to be completed in 2028 in North Bethesda. This prime location is critical to the institute’s mission of novel and urgent cutting-edge research due to its proximity to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and the Naval Medical Research Center.

It will bring together world-class researchers from two university partners to explore how AI, machine learning, and virtual and augmented reality can facilitate knowledge discovery for human health and well-being, the press release said.

“Scaling up research to address grand challenges in the life sciences has shifted from collecting data to using cutting-edge technology to discover meaningful patterns hidden in the data,” said Darryll Pines, president of UMCP. “This institute will tap world-class researchers who are exploring artificial intelligence, machine learning, and virtual and augmented reality to collaborate with medical experts, leading to broad impacts on human health and well-being.”