University Gets Funding For AI-Driven Projects to Mitigate Health Disparities

The University of Miami announced that it has received grants for multiple projects aimed at addressing health disparities through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) as part of its leadership role in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Consortium to Advance Health Equity and Researcher Diversity (AIM-AHEAD) program.

The AIM-AHEAD program was launched in July with the goal of reducing health disparities through the creation of new AI/ML algorithms and databases that improve the representation of the US population, particularly those communities currently underrepresented in research. The initiative also seeks to address researcher diversity and enhance the capabilities of AI/ML technologies, starting with improving EHR data.

The University of Miami’s Institute for Data Science and Computing (IDSC) was chosen as one of the organizations to spearhead AIM-AHEAD’s infrastructure pillar, which aims to improve "the interoperability of large-scale data resources with data that are maintained, governed, and prepared by individual institutions to preserve privacy and autonomy.” The other pillars are partnerships, research, and data science training.

As part of this leadership role, the IDSC has received funding to support multiple projects related to improving data quality, access to AI/ML tools, and enabling institutions to conduct more efficient health equity research.

“Most of our current data is biased, and often the people collecting this data are not representative of all minorities and cultural differences,” said Nick Tsinoremas, PhD, the University’s vice provost of data science and computing, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, founding director of IDSC, and lead investigator on the AIM-AHEAD grant, in the press release. “We want these biases eliminated, but we also want to create an infrastructure that encourages minority serving institutions to do this research because these are the people who understand biases in data and algorithms and know how to create more equitable or unbiased approaches.”

In one of the projects, funded by a $1.3 million grant, the university will work with historically Black colleges and universities, tribal colleges, and other minority-serving institutions to develop a computing structure that these institutions can use to share de-identified patient data. This structure and the resulting data sharing aim to improve the breadth and quality of healthcare research, according to the press release.

IDSC leadership is currently reaching out to 15 institutions across Florida. The IDSC will work with these institutions to improve their access to AI tools. The team is also working closely with the National Alliance for Disparities in Public Health, Harvard University, and Vanderbilt University to support these efforts.

Further, the University of Miami has partnered with Florida Atlantic University’s (FAU) Schmidt College of Medicine and the Caridad Center, Inc., on an AIM-AHEAD project to combat disparities in chronic disease care after receiving a $500,000 NIH grant.

The final award involves a collaboration between IDSC, Florida Memorial University (FMU), and Miami-Dade College. The $362,000 grant will support training for 40 faculty members and students at FMU and Miami-Dade College on AI/ML techniques in curriculum, research, and clinical practice.