Neuroscience and artificial intelligence were once distant disciplines that have been brought together in technological advancement and access to high-quality data. At Dementia Research Oxford, these worlds are coming together to accelerate discoveries in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
In the final episode of Season 2 of Balancing the Future, Micah and Chai speak with Dr. Alejo Nevado-Holgado, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford and Head of the Computational and Molecular Neuroscience Laboratory at Dementia Research Oxford. Together, they explore how advances in computing power and artificial neural networks are transforming our ability to understand, and may eventually help treat, neurodegenerative diseases.
The conversation dives into how Dementia Research Oxford bridges wet-lab biology and computational modeling, integrating robotics, genomics, and artificial intelligence to find new drug targets and decode the complexities of the human brain. With access to massive datasets like the UK Biobank, his team can uncover hidden biological patterns and test potential therapies faster than ever before.
Neural networks are now being used to predict how potential drugs will affect diseased cells, analyze millions of microscopic images for subtle biological changes, and even decode the human genome in ways like how language models understand text. These approaches are reshaping how scientists study disease at the cellular level and opening new possibilities for early intervention.
Alejo also explains the challenges of this new frontier: from the “black box” problem of AI explainability to the ongoing need for high-quality data and research funding, and why collaboration between data scientists and biologists is essential for the future of medicine.
LINKS
SOURCES
What is Alzheimer's Disease? – Alzheimer's Association
What is Parkinson's? – Parkinson’s Foundation
Dementia statistics – Alzheimer's Institute International
Parkinson’s statistics – Parkinson’s Foundation
How can digital health improve the signal-to-noise ratio in your clinical trials? – Cambridge Cognition
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Join Micah Schweizer and new host Chai Nussbaumer on Balancing the Future as they dive into the innovations shaping our world. From the potential of hydrogen in powering a greener planet, to the rise of GLP-1s in weight loss, and the frontier of microbiome-based treatments, they explore the science that's transforming our lives.
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