University of Alberta appoints biomedical computing expert to lead AI drug development research
Dr. Amber Simpson, newly appointed as a Canada CIFAR AI Chair at the University of Alberta, will focus on using artificial intelligence to develop new drugs and improve cancer imaging without relying on animal testing.
Simpson joined the Department of Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging in January after spending years at Queen's University, where she held a Canada Research Chair in Biomedical Computing and Informatics. She also worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Cornell Medical College.
How AI changes drug development
Current drug development relies on animal testing before human trials - a costly, time-consuming process with poor odds. Seventy percent of drugs that show promise in animals fail to help humans, Simpson said.
Her approach uses computational modeling to analyze large databases of human health information - medical images, genetic tests, doctors' notes - to identify disease targets and design drugs that will work in people. This reduces the need for animal testing and increases the likelihood that drugs will succeed in human trials.
"Our hope is that it reduces the number of failures in clinical trials because you've started from actual human data," Simpson said.
AI for cancer imaging and diagnosis
Simpson's specialty involves building prediction algorithms that analyze cancer screening images - CT scans, MRIs, X-rays - alongside thousands of others to forecast patient outcomes. The algorithms detect patterns invisible to human eyes and guide oncologists toward treatment decisions.
The models improve when fed additional data: tumor measurements, molecular makeup, smoking history, and other patient factors. More information produces more accurate predictions.
Regulatory agencies including the FDA and Health Canada have already approved AI for Healthcare tools like these. A recent international trial found that AI-powered breast cancer screening detects cancers earlier than standard methods.
Simpson is collaborating with U of A AI scientist Dr. Russ Greiner on models that track multiple data points over time - images, blood tests, treatments - as patients move through the medical system.
Why Simpson chose Alberta
Simpson cited several reasons for the move: the university's integrated health data infrastructure, the presence of Dr. Rich Sutton (winner of the 2024 A.M. Turing Award), and the collaborative environment at Amii, the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute.
The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research invested $30 million through Amii to appoint 25 new AI research chairs across fields including engineering, environmental science, education, and health. Simpson was also named inaugural director of the Dianne and Irving Kipnes Health Research Institute, a position funded in part by The Dianne and Irving Kipnes Foundation.
What's next
Simpson expects early breakthroughs in cardiovascular disease treatment, given how quickly the condition progresses and how many people it affects. She is recruiting master's, PhD, and postdoctoral students with backgrounds in ethics, epidemiology, and biostatistics.
She predicts that within a decade, patients will see the value of AI Data Analysis in health care. "Once we're changing how patients are treated and changing how they proceed through the medical system, that's really going to make people understand that these technologies can be used for good," Simpson said.
Your membership also unlocks:
