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WSU is using AI to speed discovery in human health

True to its mission of service, the university is also looking at how AI can improve health equity and outreach.

Three medical staff at work superimposed over a collage of health-related images like x-rays and charts.

At Washington State University, artificial intelligence is accelerating discovery. Researchers are using AI to sift through vast biological datasets, detect patterns, speed the search for new treatments, and get deeper insight into how living systems work.

AI is ramping up WSU’s work in genomics, pharmaceuticals, immunology and more, fueling change in how human health is studied and medical care is delivered.

A clinician looks at a computer while making notes on a chart. — Photo by Thicha Satapitanon on iStock

Using AI, for example, WSU scientists are building a web-based tool designed to put massive amounts of cancer data at the fingertips of researchers, public health officials and clinicians. The informatics tool will enable researchers to analyze combined national datasets across a range of cancer-related characteristics, potentially accelerating critical research into the disease that claims millions of lives each year.

At the Paul G. Allen School for Global Health, researchers have developed a machine learning model that identifies animals that harbor viruses that could spread to humans, which could help limit, or even prevent, future pandemics.

WSU computer scientist Diane Cook, a pioneer in the field of smart sensing and AI, has worked with colleagues to develop a system of in-home sensors that monitor the activities of residents and use machine learning to flag behavioral changes. Such information could help detect signs of a new or worsening problem and offer great promise for helping people stay in their homes as long as possible.

Addictions researchers at the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine are eyeing the possibilities of AI to personalize apps that help people quit smoking or manage other use disorders.

This AI-based deep learning program was very, very accurate at looking at these tissues. It could revolutionize this type of medicine for both animals and humans.
Michael Skinner

Close-up of a 3D printer printing a small item.

Computer scientists in the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture have designed an AI model that improves 3-D printing that could be applied to the creation of artificial organs, among other uses.

There’s an AI tool that analyzes hundreds of hair samples in seconds, and another deep learning model that could have a major impact in improving accuracy and speed in diagnosing signs of disease in human and animal tissue.

“This AI-based deep learning program was very, very accurate at looking at these tissues,” said Michael Skinner, a professor in WSU’s School of Biological Sciences. “It could revolutionize this type of medicine for both animals and humans.”

WSU, a land-grant university whose mission is service, is also investigating the role AI could play in improving health equity and outreach.

One project, for example, used AI to generate reminder messages for healthcare appointments at a rural medical clinic. Another project at the same clinic will provide patients who have type 2 diabetes with an app to help manage their condition.

But university scientists, mindful that technology can have lopsided benefits, are integrating human questions about privacy, access and resources into their research, too.

Said Anna Zamora-Kapoor, an associate professor in the departments of Sociology and Medical Education and Clinical Sciences, “There is a risk that AI exacerbates inequities, with a segment of the populations able to use AI to their advantage and the advantage of their families, while others are left behind.”

Explore WSU News to learn more about how WSU’s impact goes beyond the numbers.

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