The AI, Health Equity, and Ethics Symposium explores the theme of epistemic humility, cultural humility, and diverse perspectives, alongside meaningful community involvement, to transform the way we think, learn, and collaborate to prevent AI from perpetuating existing disparities. Opening with a keynote by Dr. Tereza Hendl, a philosopher and bioethicist, the event explores broad ethical frameworks and specific challenges, such as the limitations of AI and bias. Workshops will focus on bias mitigation strategies co-designed with marginalized communities, emphasizing participatory action research to democratize innovation and promote just healthcare outcomes. By centering community expertise and lived experiences, the symposium encourages a reimagining of AI’s role in healthcare—ensuring that technological advances work to reduce, not reinforce, disparities.

Meet the Editor - Special Seminar

Wednesday, January 15, 2025 (12pm – 1pm )

Luria Audiorium 76-156

Montserrat Cols

Sr. Scientific Editor, Journal of Experimental Medicine

Montserrat (Montse) received her PhD from Keele University in the UK, working on molecular aspects of apoptosis of immune cells in fish. She then trained with Dr. Andrea Cerutti at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and more recently worked with Dr. Jayanta Chaudhuri at the Sloan Kettering Institute both in New York City. Throughout her training and appointments, her particular focus has been on many aspects relating to B cell biology, from inborn errors affecting human B-cell development and function to leukemia origin and development. Montse joined the Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM) as a Scientific Editor in 2020 and was promoted to Senior Scientific Editor in 2022. Although an immunologist by training, Montse handles all types of studies at JEM, from microbial pathogenesis to stem cell biology and neuroscience.

The Convergence Scholars Program and the KI Postdoc Association are hosting a Panel Discussion with early-stage faculty on Tuesday, January 14, noon to 1:30pm.

The panelists will be Profs. Lindsay Case, Anders Hansen, Alison Ringel, and Francisco Sanchez-Rivera. Come and find out what it’s like to transition to a faculty position, set up a lab, and more!

The Human Tumor Atlas Network: Exploring tumor evolution in time and space

The much anticipated release of the latest collection of research and resources from the Human Tumor Atlas Network is now live.

Join us for a webinar in which leaders of HTAN, Li Ding (Washington University St Louis), Ken Lau (Vanderbilt University) and Shannon Hughes (US National Cancer Institute) discuss the latest exciting progress from HTAN. Chaired by Alexia-Ileana Zaromytidou (Chief Editor, Nature Cancer), the discussions will provide insight into HTAN’s collaborations to compile detailed atlases integrating cellular, molecular and histological features across diverse cancer types and stages. After their discussion, the speakers will be joined by HTAN research leader, Michael Snyder (Stanford University) to answer questions.

This webinar will explore:

• The history of HTAN

• The goals of assembling cancer atlases

• Functioning of a successful multi-institution consortium

• In numbers: HTAN’s scope and scale

• The power of spatial technologies

• Applying evolutionary principles in cancer research

• The importance of understanding the cancer microenvironment

• How you can use HTAN’s resources for your own research

• The future of the field

KI Oncology Seminar Series:

Josh Rabinowitz, PhD, Princeton University

Luria Auditorium

The Biomanufacturing Revolution in Historical Context

Robin Scheffler

Associate Professor

MIT Science, Technology, and Society

Location: 32-141

KI Oncology Seminar Series:

Scott Lowe, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Luria Auditorium

Russ Jenkins MD, PhD: Patient-derived organotypic spheroids to study immunotherapy response

Koch Institute Luria Auditorium

33rd Annual Irwin M. Arias Symposium

The first Irwin M. Arias, M.D. Symposium was held in 1991, and the theme of the event was – as it remains today – Bridging Basic Science and Liver Disease.

This unique one-day program brings together hundreds of leading biomedical scientists and physicians from across the globe and is designed to bridge the remarkable advances in basic biology and engineering with the understanding of liver diseases and their treatment. Research presented over the past 33 years has led to advances in the diagnosis and treatment of virtually all liver diseases in children and adults.

With plenary talks from renowned researchers and a collection of three-minute micro talks delivered by trainee scientists, the Arias Symposium is a model in ‘bridging’ between the academic, industrial, and clinical research communities – even across disciplines.

The 2024 symposium will be offered both in-person and virtually. In-person attendees will benefit from a poster session and networking opportunities with plenary speakers and other attendees. Breakfast, lunch, and a networking reception will also be provided to in-person attendees. Registration is free for all trainees (postdocs, fellows, grad. students, undergrads, etc.). Registration is $50 for in-person attendees other than trainees. Virtual attendance is free but requires registration.

We welcome participation from researchers at every stage of their careers, and invite them to share perspectives from their academic, industrial, and clinical research settings. Trainees and early-career investigators who are interested in presenting a micro-talk (in-person or virtually) or poster (in-person only) should submit an abstract with their registration. The deadline to submit an abstract is November 1, 2024.

For queries related to Arias Symposium corporate sponsorship, please contact Heidi Daniels, HDaniels@liverfoundation.org.

Advancing Medical Applications of Cancer Nanotechnology: Celebrating Two Successful Decades of the NCI’s Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory Service to the Research Community

The Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (NCL) has made significant strides in advancing cancer nanotechnology over the past two decades. Established by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in 2004 in collaboration with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the NCL has played a crucial role in bridging the gap between nanotechnology innovations and their clinical applications in oncology. The NCL serves as a resource and knowledgebase for all cancer researchers—academia, industry, and government—to facilitate the development and clinical translation of novel nanotechnologies intended as cancer therapeutics, vaccines, and diagnostics. 

NCL’s key contributions to the field of nanomedicine include standardization and characterization of nanoparticles to ensure that nanotechnologies meet the safety, efficacy, and quality standards required for clinical trials; worldwide support for nanotechnology developers by offering expertise in physicochemical characterization, immunological testing, toxicology, and pharmacokinetics; assisting collaborators in overcoming challenges such as toxicity, targeting efficiency, and scalability through comprehensive evaluation and feedback; and helping navigate the complexities of nanotechnology development, guiding researchers towards safer and more effective nanomedicines, facilitating the translation of promising nanotechnologies from the bench to the clinic. 

Numerous nanotechnology-based cancer therapies have emerged from NCL-supported research, with dozens of concepts entering clinical trials, showing promise in improving treatment outcomes and patient quality of life. To celebrate two successful decades of the NCL’s contributions to advancing the field of cancer nanotechnology, this symposium brings together NCL scientists, collaborators, and researchers applying nanotechnology to improve current treatment strategies and develop innovative therapies, vaccines, and diagnostics to combat cancer and the detrimental side-effects of many existing standard of care treatments.

Decarbonization through Biomanufacturing: Sustainable Production of Next-Generation Fats and Oils

David Heller

Co-Founder and COO

C16 Biosciences, Inc.

Location: 32-141

KI Oncology Seminar Series:

Kay MacLeod, PhD, University of Chicago

Luria Auditorium

Biopolymers to Boost Food Security: From Lab Discovery to Business and Future Opportunities

Benedetto Marelli

Associate Professor

MIT Civil & Environmental Engineering

Location: 32-141

Clinical Implementation of Artificial Intelligence Technologies

Danielle Bitterman MD

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

12-1pm, Koch Institute Luria Auditorium

Dr. Bitterman is a physician-scientist with unique expertise in AI and natural language processing.  Her research is dedicated to incorporating technological advances in AI into intelligent electronic health systems to improve data-driven cancer care.  Dr. Bitterman's laboratory develops natural language processing methods that process vast amounts of data contained within electronic health records to provide insights individualized to each patient and facilitate more effective communication between patients, caregivers, and clinicians.  This work includes automating information extraction from text across multiple clinical and biomedical domains and applying deep learning-based language models to support clinical decision-making and patient education.  Dr. Bitterman's clinical translational efforts also include prospective clinical trials regarding the use of AI technologies in cancer care.  Dr. Bitterman and her team have published multiple high impact articles on these topics in journals such as Nature Medicine, JAMA Oncology, and Lancet Digital Health, and Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology.

Dr. Bitterman received her undergraduate degree at Columbia University, and attended medical school at New York University School of Medicine. She completed an internship in internal medicine at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, and her residency at the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship in natural language processing at the Computational Health Informatics Program at Boston Children's Hospital.

Celebrating the Impact of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology! 

The Nano Summit serves as the flagship conference for MIT.nano, showcasing groundbreaking advancements in nanoscience and nanotechnology. This year's summit will delve into the transformative impact of nanoscience as it relates to microscopy, materials science, AI and machine learning, hard technology, human health, and more. The summit is ideal for researchers, industry professionals, entrepreneurs, and students interested in the latest developments in cutting-edge research, emerging technologies, and real-world applications.

More details will be added as they are announced. 

KI Oncology Seminar Series:

Jennifer Guerriero, PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Luria Auditorium

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) invite entrepreneurs developing cancer technologies to improve women's health to discuss the journey with the women leaders in the area! Panelists include NCI Director Dr. Kimryn Rathmell and VP of ACS extramural research Dr. Christina Annunziata, as well as women CEOs that are making an impact in the area.

This is a hybrid event, to be held at Portal Innovations Southline. Please select your preferred participation (in-person or online) in the attendance application.

Event Agenda

2:30-3:00 p.m. - Introduction and opening comments

3:00-4:00 p.m. - Fireside Chat with NCI Director, Dr. Kimryn Rathmell and Christina Annunziata, MD, PhD, Senior Vice President, Extramural Discovery Science at American Cancer Society

4:15-5:15 p.m. - Panel Discussion on Advancing Technology Development for Women’s Health (panelists below)

• Dawn Mattoon, Ph.D., CEO, Mercy BioAnalytics

• Anu Parvatiyar, Co-founder CEO, Ananya Health

• Maria Luisa Pineda, Ph.D., Co-founder & CEO, Envisagenics

• Eve McDavid, CEO & Co-founder, Mission-Driven Tech

• Shadi Saberi, Ph.D., Founder & CTO, iSono Health

• Kristin Sherman, CEO, Kovina Therapeutics

5:30-7:30 p.m.     Portal Pours Networking Reception 

KI Oncology Seminar Series:

Steven Elledge, PhD, Harvard University and Brigham & Women’s

Luria Auditorium

Kimmie Ng MD, MPH: Early-onset colorectal cancer

Koch Institute Luria Auditorium

What is the MIT Hacking Medicine BioxAI Pitch Event?

The next generation’s biggest innovations might be in the lab across the street from yours.

• The BioxAI Pitch Event will be an opportunity to bring together budding entrepreneurs from various MIT departments, namely PhD students and postdocs, applying ML/AI to biological questions. For example, early stage founders will pitch for co-founders. Founders and individuals who want to join a team will likewise pitch themselves.

• This will be an opportunity to learn from guests within and outside MIT, including NSF, CSAIL Alliances, and the Martin Trust Center. Pitch requirements include a maximum of 2 minutes.

Is this the right event for you? 

The BioxAI Pitch Event aims to help MIT PhD students and postdocs working at the interface of biology, specifically protein biology/drug discovery fields, and ML/AI who:

- are interested in scaling up their early stage venture 

- finding a cofounder  

- joining a team of cofounders*

KI Oncology Seminar Series:

Gloria Brar, PhD, UC Berkeley

Luria Auditorium

Fireside Chat on the Bioeconomy

Tom Kalil, CEO, Renaissance Philanthropy

Georgia Lagoudas, former Senior Advisor for Biotechnology & Bioeconomy, Biden White House OSTP

Mark Bathe, Professor, MIT Biological Engineering

Otto Cordero, Associate Professor, MIT Civil & Environmental Engineering

The Launch of the National Bioeconomy Initiative: Policy Perspectives from the White House

Georgia Lagoudas, former Senior Advisor for Biotechnology & Bioeconomy, Biden White House OSTP

Location: 32-141

KI Oncology Seminar Series: Engineering cell-type selective cytokines via cis-targeting

Kelly Moynihan, PhD, Asher Biotherapeutics

Luria Auditorium

Sandro Santagata MD, PhD: New Horizons in Pathology: Innovations in Multiplexed Tissue Imaging for Discovery and Diagnostics

Koch Institute Luria Auditorium

OPTICAL IMAGING IN NEUROSURGERY 2024

Simches Research Center, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02114, United States

The Optical Imaging in Neurosurgery Meeting is a gathering of optical imaging experts and neurosurgeons who share a common goal of improving visualization in surgery. This event aims to function both as a showcase of cutting-edge optical imaging technologies and a forum for addressing unmet clinical needs that could potentially be solved by optics-based methods. Through presentation and organized discussion, this meeting seeks to bridge the gap between technological advancement and clinical requirements.

TARGET AUDIENCE

This activity is intended for neurosurgeons, optical imaging specialists and engineers. 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the latest advances in optical imaging that are suitable for neurosurgical applications.

2. Identify current unmet needs in neurosurgical visualization.

3. Recognize challenges associated with clinical translation of optical tools in neurosurgery.