Peer-to-Peer Network Meeting AI on AI4Prevention

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Horst Karl Hahn, spokesperson for UBRA's lead project on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and director of Fraunhofer MEVIS, and Dr. Monika Michaelis, coordinator of UBRA's lead project on Artificial Intelligence (AI), welcomed the participants and gave new attendees the opportunity to introduce themselves. Following the introductions, Professor Hahn outlined the fundamental considerations behind "AI4Prevention": AI has the potential to revolutionize healthcare by making the system more effective and efficient. While today's healthcare primarily focuses on treating diseases and injuries, its true potential lies in prevention and early-stage healing. By using AI in prevention, predictive models, and early detection, diseases could be identified at a treatable stage, thereby preventing fatalities. Already in 2024, UBRA experts gathered for a strategic workshop, defining the specific building blocks of the extensive follow-up project "AI4Prevention" within the AI Center for Health Care.

"Together with our cooperation partners from science, healthcare, and industry, we aim to set new standards in AI-assisted preventive healthcare. By combining innovative technologies with a strict focus on reliability and transparent communication, disease prevention can be significantly improved. This will make a decisive contribution to 'Early Medicine' and the sustainable strengthening of the European healthcare system."

Among the experts involved in the strategic workshop were Prof. Dr. Hajo Zeeb and Prof. Dr. Marvin N. Wright (University of Bremen/Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS), both researchers at the Leibniz ScienceCampus Digital Public Health (DiPH)Bremen. This research campus consists of three clusters: (1) Digital Divide and Health Equity, (2) Digitalization in Primary and Secondary Prevention und (3)Human-Digital Interactions in DiPH. The AI4Prevention initiative focuses, among other aspects, on data-driven predictions of disease probabilities using algorithms and the integration of various data types. As the head of DiPH, Professor Zeeb introduced participants to Research Cluster 2: Digitalization in Primary and Secondary Prevention and provided insights into the work packages considered within this cluster.

Another highlight at the conclusion of the Peer-to-Peer Network meeting was the keynote lecture by Konrad H. Stopsack, recently appointed as Professor specializing in Epidemiological Methods and Causal Research in the Department of Human and Health Sciences at the University of Bremen. He also heads the Department of Epidemiological Methods and Causal Research at the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS. Prof. Stopsack's research focuses on understanding how diseases develop and can be prevented. His primary focus is on prostate cancer, cancer precursors, and risk factors that influence the likelihood of chronic diseases. In his keynote, he provided insights into his research on "Histopathology-based AI scores for predicting prostate cancer survival".

A networking get-together concluded the event, offering participants further opportunities for exchange.