Dec 11, 2020

LMP celebrates launch of Artificial Intelligence Centre

Research: Artificial Intelligence in healthcare
A screenshot of several people on a Zoom call

The Temerty Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Education in Medicine (T-CAIREM) was recently launched at the University of Toronto’s St. George campus. The new Centre solidifies Toronto’s place as a world leader in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), data science and the health sciences.

Based in the Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology, T-CAIREM’s work will focus on three pillars: Research, Education, and Data Infrastructure. The centre brings together some of North America’s brightest researchers, including:

  • Director: Professor Muhammad Mamdani
  • Research co-leads: Professor Anna Goldenberg (Computer Science/SickKids) and Professor Mjaye Mazwi (Pediatrics/SickKids)
  • Education lead: Professor Laura Rosella (DLSPH) and learner co-leads Vinyas Harish (MD/PhD student) and Felipe Morgado (MD/PhD student)
  • Infrastructure co-leads: Professor Sean Hill (Psychiatry/CAMH) and Dr. Alistair Johnson (Computer Science/SickKids).

Dr Rita Kandel, Department Chair LMP, was involved in the project from the start.

She co-chaired with Dr Kaveh Shojania, from the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation of the Dalla Lana Faculty of Public Health, a working group identifying new opportunities for U of T’s medical school to be a world leader in the field of artificial intelligence.

“It’s such a pleasure to see the Centre officially launch,” commented Rita, “We developed this idea some time ago, and to see it finally come to life is incredibly rewarding.”

“We’re providing a space for faculty, learners and other experts to think and work together creatively to help solve challenges in healthcare and science. Collaboration is key so the idea is to bring as many people together from a variety of different fields.”

The centre will not just benefit research, Rita notes, “We plan to bring some of their experience into the LMP curriculum so we can train our learners in these important developments.”

The Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology marked the occasion by holding a panel discussion entitled ’How will Artificial Intelligence affect the delivery of healthcare?’ as part of their Annual Celebration of Excellence awards evening.

Experts appointed in LMP, Dr Bo Wang, Dr Laura Rosella and Dr Muhammad Mamdani discussed the topic, moderated Dr Rahul Gopal Krishnan. Including questions posed by the audience, the panel debated areas such as ethics and safety, training and AI’s influence on decision-making in healthcare.

Read the full story: U of T launches new Temerty Centre for AI Research and Education in Medicine on the T-CAIREM website.

Watch the 'fireside chat'