Twenty-five years ago, artificial intelligence (AI) was the stuff of science fiction. Today, AI is part of everyday life, from digital assistants like Siri and Alexa to advanced image generators. Now, scientists are harnessing AI to gain deeper insights into human diseases and improve patient care.

What is AI?

AI refers to technologies that allow computers to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. A key component of AI is machine learning, where computers learn to make predictions or decisions based on data. A more advanced form of this is deep learning, which mimics the structure of the human brain to solve even more complex problems. This technology underpins some of the most well-known AI systems today, such as ChatGPT and AlphaGo.

Versiti Blood Research Institute (VBRI) Associate Investigator and Director of Bioinformatics Tongjun Gu, PhD, is an expert in modern AI. Her goal is to use AI to analyze different types of biological data and understand how they work together in diseases like cancer. “The main idea is to develop better algorithms to study how diseases develop and to improve early cancer detection,” she said.

AI and bioinformatics

Dr. Gu specializes in applying AI to bioinformatics, a field that combines biology, statistics and computer science to interpret complex biological data. Before joining VBRI, she developed a deep learning-based AI algorithm to integrate multiple types of biological data—known as omics data—which helped researchers better understand how solid tumors form. “For solid tumors, the goal was early detection, making treatments more effective,” she said. “We focused on identifying biomarkers to distinguish between early- and late-stage cancer and used that information to guide treatment.”

At VBRI, Dr. Gu aims to apply similar AI approaches to study acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the most common type of leukemia in adults. “I have collected large sets of data to identify different subtypes of AML for personalized treatment and to predict who is at a high risk for developing the disease,” she said. “My goal is to combine patient information—like demographics, environmental factors and omics data—to predict their risk levels and uncover the underlying mechanisms driving the disease.”

Omics data, which is generated from large-scale biological experiments, can be challenging to interpret, especially when dealing with multiple types at once. This is where AI proves invaluable. Dr. Gu’s algorithm will group patient data into subtypes and identify specific biomarkers for AML. This personalized approach could lead to more targeted treatments and improve precision medicine.

“Cancer is extremely complex because so many factors are involved,” Dr. Gu said. “Many researchers focus on one type of data, but my approach uses AI to combine different data types, helping us see how they all contribute to cancer development.”

Building a bigger picture of cancer

In the past, computational analysis wasn’t as precise as experimental methods due to the sheer amount of data. However, advancements in AI now allow computers to process vast amounts of information more accurately. In some cases, AI can reveal insights that would be impossible to uncover through traditional experiments alone.

Dr. Gu believes AI will allow scientists to analyze larger data sets, produce more accurate results and create a more comprehensive understanding of cancer. “With AI, we can integrate different types of data to build a bigger picture of how cancer works,” she said. “This technology gives us the power to conduct research more effectively and provide more precise analysis.”

To achieve this, Dr. Gu is working on an advanced AI model that integrates various profiles of omics data, starting with epigenetic factors. “The long-term goal is to understand the interactions in omics data and get a full picture of cancer development,” she said. “We’re looking for hidden pathways and epigenetic factors that may be driving the disease, which could lead to new treatments.”

Why VBRI?

Dr. Gu believes Versiti Blood Research Institute is the ideal place to conduct her work, based on its strong reputation in the field of blood research and its spirit of teamwork. “There are so many opportunities to work with other investigators and develop new ways of interpreting data,” she said. “I’m excited to be part of this team and hope our work will lead to better outcomes for leukemia patients.”

About the expert: Tongjun Gu, PhD, is an associate investigator at Versiti Blood Research Institute. She also runs the Bioinformatics Core Lab, which provides data analysis services to VBRI investigators and staff.