The Lower Saxony Research Center for Artificial Intelligence and Causal Methods in Medicine (CAIMed) has been officially launched. More than 100 participants from science, politics, business and translation gathered at the kick-off event on May 6 at the Göttingen Computing Center (GWDG – Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung mbH). The aim was to discuss the potential and challenges of personalized medicine.
CAIMed combines excellent locations in Lower Saxony in the fields of methodical AI research, data-intensive medicine, medical informatics and basic medical research. This combination creates a unique center for research into AI and personalized medicine in Germany.
In his opening speech, CAIMed Director Prof. Dr. Niels Grabe (University Medical Center Göttingen) pointed out the increasing number of cancer cases and emphasized the promising possibilities of individualized therapy approaches through the digitalization of the life sciences.
In his welcoming address, Science Minister Falko Mohrs emphasized the potential that CAIMed can leverage for Lower Saxony by combining life science and data science expertise in the Hanover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg metropolitan region. Dr. Georg Schütte, Secretary General of the Volkswagen Foundation, emphasized the excellent conditions that the consortium brings with it, along with high expectations for CAIMed to place Lower Saxony visibly on the map of AI research and to advance AI-driven research for personalized medicine.
Prof. Dr. Bernhard Brümmer, Vice President for Research and Sustainability, thanked the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony and the Volkswagen Foundation for funding CAIMed, which enables the strengths of basic and applied research at the interface of computer science and medicine to be strengthened and expanded.
Prof. Wolfgang Brück, Spokesman of the Board of the University Medical Center Göttingen, emphasized one of the goals of CAIMed to improve decision-making and therapy in patient care with the help of AI and causal methods. This could significantly increase the efficiency of the healthcare system and the well-being of patients.
In his keynote speech, Prof. Dr. Tobias Moser from the University Medical Center Göttingen gave insights into his research, including the prediction of protein structures and the improvement of hearing through genetic therapies.
The concluding panel discussion, moderated by CAIMed Managing Director Dr. Johannes Winter, highlighted various facets of the use of AI in medicine, from clinical decision support to drug dosing. These facets were represented by CAIMed Board of Directors Speaker Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Nejdl (causal methods for better decisions), Junior Prof. Dr. Anne-Christin Hausschild (machine learning and clinical decision support), Dr. Virginie Schatlo (personalized glioblastoma therapy, life science start-up ecosystem), PD Dr. med. Thomas Jack (AI use in intensive care medicine) and Prof. Dr. Michael Meyer-Hermann (mathematical models for better drug dosing). In conclusion, Wolfgang Nejdl put it in a nutshell: by linking research and care data and using artificial intelligence and causal methods, prevention, diagnostics, therapy and the monitoring of therapeutic success can become significantly more effective and efficient, while better addressing the individual needs of each person.
CAIMed wants to come a decisive step closer to this goal.
