Development of AI tools in Transplantation: Current and Future Prospects
Speaker: Dr. Mamatha Bhat, Hepatologist & Co-Lead of Transplant AI initiative (TAI), Ajmera Transplant Centre
Bhat Lab - Precision Medicine to Enhance Life after Liver Transplantation
Transplant AI Initiative
Abstract:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been increasingly applied to clinical questions in transplant medicine in recent years. As we continue to push the limits of transplantation, with the older age and complex comorbidities of candidates, there are many challenges throughout transplant medicine that must be better addressed. Various factors affect liver transplant pathology and outcomes, including sex, ethnicity, genetics, BMI, diabetes, and immunosuppressive regimens. There exist complex, non-linear patterns in laboratory tests that must be considered in conjunction with the complex clinical variables to predict outcome. Additionally, electronic health record data, imaging technologies, histology, and ‘omics data have continued to expand the types of data available. These complex data points, their hidden patterns and interrelationships can be uniquely leveraged with the use of AI tools. Longitudinal changes in these variables are also being examined to provide a continuous reassessment of risk along the timeline. Applications of AI in transplant medicine include waitlist prioritization, donor-recipient matching, and short-term/long-term outcome prediction. In this talk, I will go over these considerations with respect to application of AI in transplant medicine. I will additionally discuss integration of ‘omics data, as well as perspectives regarding clinical deployment of AI tools.
Speaker:
Dr. Mamatha Bhat is a Hepatologist and Clinician-Scientist at UHN’s Ajmera Transplant Centre, and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Dr. Bhat completed her medical school and residency training at McGill University. She then completed a Transplant Hepatology fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, followed by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Fellowship for Health Professionals, through which she completed a PhD.
The goal of Dr. Bhat’s research program is to improve long-term outcomes of liver transplantation through a precision medicine approach. Her program is unique in using tools of Artificial Intelligence with bioinformatics to personalize the care of liver transplant recipients based on an improved biological understanding of the liver and disease after transplant. Her interdisciplinary program has been supported by the CIHR, Canadian Donation and Transplant Research Program (CDTRP), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Canadian Liver Foundation (CLF), among others. Dr. Bhat is Partnership & Engagement Lead for the Temerty Centre for AI Research and Education in Medicine (T-CAIREM), Chair of the International Liver Transplant Society Basic and Translational Science Research committee; on the Executive committee of the CDTRP, and an Associate Editor for the American Journal of Transplantation. Dr. Bhat has also been the recipient of recognitions such as the 2022 CIHR-INMD-CASL Early Career Researcher prize, CASL Research Excellence award and the 2021 American Society of Transplantation Basic Science Career Development Award.