Business Education

Interdisciplinary faculty team at FSU awarded grant for research on AI applied to health equity

By Staff Report, posted 1 year ago
Image provided by FSU

A team of faculty from multiple departments at Fayetteville State University received a $100,000 grant from the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) Consortium to Advance Health Equity and Researcher Diversity (AIM-AHEAD) to increase research capacity in AI applied to Health Equity.

The funding was provided under AIM-AHEAD’s Program for Artificial Intelligence Readiness (PAIR). Faculty members from computer science, biology and nursing are collaborating with the PAIR program to develop research capabilities that can transform Health Equity through novel applications of AI.

"Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the enabling technology of the 21st century and it has transformed, and continues to transform, many aspects of our lives,” said Sambit Bhattacharya, Ph.D., full professor of Computer Science and principal investigator for the research project, in a press release. “AI has high potential for improving Health Equity by analyzing large and complex health care datasets to combat disparities in minority healthcare.”

Collaborating with Bhattacharya are co-investigators Jiazheng Yuan, Ph.D, associate professor and assistant chair of the Biology and Forensic Science department and nursing faculty members Angela McLaurin, Ph.D, and Jamil Norman, Ph.D.

The team’s Phase I, Increasing Capacity in Health Equity through Use-Inspired Research in Artificial Intelligence, will focus on creating the foundation for establishing a comprehensive network of prominent scholars and experienced practitioners. The network will collaboratively participate in workshops and symposia to delineate specific research thrusts, pinpoint existing gaps in research, understand the current state of research infrastructure and discern technological methods that can be employed.

Creating this network is the catalyst for establishing an AI Lab on Health Equity.

Focusing on minority populations and other communities that often face extra challenges is a pivotal aspect of this initiative. “Using AI to connect people to community resources can also help to decrease health disparities,” Bhattacharya added in a press release.

The primary funder of the AIM-AHEAD consortium is the National Institutes of Health.

Ico insights

INSIGHTS

SPONSORS' CONTENT

In The Current Issue

Cape Fear Regional Theatre hosts official groundbreaking for Act 2: Expansion and Renovation

Cape Fear Regional Theatre officially broke ground on an expansion and renovation of their facility at 1209 Hay St. on April 7. Photos by GFBJ.At noon today, April 7, Cape Fear Regional Theatre officially broke ground on an expansion and renovation o


DistiNCtly Fayetteville announces the first ever Fayetteville Tourism Awards and Annual Tourism Summit

DistiNCtly Fayetteville is calling all hospitality businesses throughout Cumberland County’s vast tourism industry to submit their nominations for the 2025 DistiNCtly Fayetteville Tourism Awards coming to the community on Sept. 18, 2025. This is


Quite an improvement: Fort Bragg's homestead project brings $91 million investment to improve military housing

Renovations to a roof in the Pope Army Airfield's Hillcrest neighborhood is part of the Homestead Project. Photo by Jason Ragucci, Fort Bragg Garrison Public Affairs Office.Fort Bragg is undergoing a transformation with the launch of the Homestead Pr