The research aims to identify precise genetic markers and pathways linked to cognitive decline
Next-generation sequencing specialist Admera Health has collaborated with AI researchers from Old Dominion University (ODU) to develop a generative AI-based platform for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research.
"This partnership underscores our shared goal to provide the scientific community with reliable tools to advance discoveries and accelerate the development of new therapeutics and diagnostics for AD,” said Admera Health CEO Yun Zhao.
The project is titled Knowledge-Augmented Genomics Transformers for Mechanistic Links to AD Dementia. It will use a pre-trained AI model called scGPT to analyse large-scale genomic datasets from AD cohorts.
The team will fine-tune the scGPT model on two extensive datasets: the Religious Orders Study and Memory and Aging Project (ROSMAP) and the Seattle Alzheimer’s Disease Brain Cell Atlas (SEA-AD).
"We aim to identify precise genetic markers and pathways that are linked to cognitive decline,” said ODU researcher Dr Hong Qin. This could help to address challenges in AD research such as integrating diverse multi-omic datasets and improving the interpretability of AI predictions in biomedical research.
The research is funded by a grant from the University of Pennsylvania Penn Artificial Intelligence and Technology Collaboratory for Healthy Aging (PennAITech), an initiative funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health.
“If successful, this research can empower medical professionals to develop new tools for diagnosis and treatment and transform our understanding of the complexities of Alzheimer’s,” said Qin. “In parallel, the company Admera Health will apply this AI-driven research to enhance cell type annotation within its single-cell analysis pipeline."
The research team is a multidisciplinary partnership that includes academic AI researchers from Old Dominion University, AD scientists from the University of Pennsylvania and Sanford Burnham Prebys, and bioinformatics experts from Admera Health.
