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Purdue professor exploring how artificial intelligence can add years to your life

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Lafayette Journal & Courier
David Umulis portrait

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — David Umulis, professor and the Dane A. Miller head of Purdue University’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, is examining how artificial intelligence can help in human longevity.

According to Umulis, AI, synthetic biology and collaboration are the "building blocks" that will help engineers and scientists in addressing health issues.

“Artificial intelligence is a game changer when it comes to biology, biomedical engineering and other related research areas,” Umulis said in a release. “If we can develop the best way to use AI and other technologies, we will find ways to address human health and longevity that we could never imagine earlier.”

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One such example of those three elements working together is found in his work in EMBRIO, the Emergent Mechanisms in Biology of Robustness, Integration & Organization Institute.

EMBRIO received $12.5 million from the National Science Foundation and serves in a partnership across six higher education institutions to further research in this field. These partnerships utilize AI in biology to see how cells defend themselves and how they repair cellular damage.

“A lot of things I’ve done in biology are now happening at a massive scale as data sciences and simulation sciences are starting to have a much larger impact in medicine, physiology, drug design and sensing,” Umulis said. “As medicine and biomedical engineering become more integrated and data-centric, there’s an exploding need for expertise in those domains. People are much more conscious of wellness throughout development and aging, so there are more opportunities in all aspects of biomedical engineering.”

Along with leading the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering's 27-member of faculty, Umulis is expanding the partnerships between the school and health care providers, medical researchers and medical device companies to take the research phase to clinical settings. 

The school's expertise is also being expanded through Umulis' recent hiring of three new faculty members with specialties in biomaterials, cardiology, and digital health including data, AI and cybersecurity.