Link: https://www.youtube.com/ExactasUNCPBA/live

Best wishes,

Jose A. Fernandez-Leon Fellenz
Adjunct Professor UNCPBA - Researcher CONICET
CIFICEN (UNCPBA-CICPBA-CONICET) & INTIA (UNCPBA-CICPBA)
Dept. of Computer Science and Systems -  Exactas-UNCPBA
EMail: jafernandez@intia.exa.unicen.edu.ar
Web: https://jafphd.intia.exa.unicen.edu.ar/
NeuroAI Lab: https://neuro-ai-lab.intia.exa.unicen.edu.ar/
 

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Title: AI Challenges for Large Longitudinal Clinical Trials in Mental Health -  Guillermo Cecchi (Institute T.J. Watson – IBM Research, USA)

Abstract: The recent experience of accelerated vaccine development under the pressure of the covid pandemic, the massive adoption of consumer electronics and the explosion of AI capabilities signal a dramatic shift in the implementation of clinical trials, which have been particularly ineffective and onerous in mental health. We will present results from ongoing and recently completed large longitudinal clinical trials for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Chronic Pain, Prodromal Psychosis and outcomes across all mental health conditions in which massive streams of clinical data are combined with at-home ultra-high frequency digital information including smart phone use, geolocation, and semi-structured and free-form language to provide a holistic and quasi-real time assessment of the participants, and will discuss the analytic and interpretation challenges that emerge in these demanding studies.

BIO: https://research.ibm.com/people/guillermo-cecchi
Academic background: Guillermo Cecchi received an education in Physics (MSc, University of La Plata, Argentina, 1991), Physics and Biology (PhD, The Rockefeller University, 1994-1999), and Imaging in Psychiatry (Postdoctoral Fellow, Cornell University 2000-2001). He has been interested in diverse aspects of theoretical biology, including Brownian transport, molecular computation, spike reliability in neurons, song production and representation in songbirds, statistics of natural images and visual perception, statistics of natural language, and brain imaging. In 2001 he joined IBM Research to work on computational approaches to brain function. In recent years, Dr. Cecchi has pioneered the use of a computational linguistics approach to quantify psychiatric conditions from short speech samples, applying it successfully to conditions as diverse as schizophrenia, mania, prodromal psychosis, chronic pain, neurodegeneration, drug and alcohol intake, and psychotherapy.
Areas of research: Dr. Cecchi directs the Computational Psychiatry and the Neuroimaging groups in IBM Research, and is Associate Director of Analytics for NIH's Advancing Medicines Partnerships - Schizophrenia.  From May 2024, Dr. Cecchi is the co-Director of the PREDiCT Center for outcomes forecast across all mental health outpatients in New York City Mt Sinai hospitals (NIH U01 center grant).

About EiNS Seminars: This online seminar series aims to go beyond the human mind to unlock intelligence across nature and machines. The talks invite a cross-disciplinary exploration of cognitive and decision-making systems, and computational linguistics from biological organisms to Artificial Intelligence. By examining the intricacies of minds embedded in physical bodies or their absence, we aim to uncover novel approaches for developing neuroscience and artificial intelligence. Join us as we delve into the fascinating world of embodied and cognitive intelligence, exploring how memory, learning, decision-making, environmental awareness, and consciousness manifest across various life forms and AI challenges. Each talk will feature captivating case studies and open dialogue, fostering a collaborative environment for generating fresh perspectives. The talks are recorded only with authorization of the speaker and are available to everybody at https://neuro-ai-lab.intia.exa.unicen.edu.ar/eins-seminars.