Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have launched a collaborative agreement that will support the development and commercialization of biomarkers and diagnostics for diseases. Through this agreement, AWS will provide Columbia researchers with access to Amazon's web-based cloud technologies, artificial intelligence, machine learning services, and high-performance computing to accelerate the analysis of complex datasets, develop predictive models, and translate discoveries into improved patient care. Columbia researchers will be able to access AWS cloud and AI technology, allowing rapid access to large, complex data sets to help speed the development of models that predict health outcomes and advance patient care. AWS is providing support through promotional credits for cloud computing technologies for early-career faculty pursuing biomarker discovery; faculty engaged in sponsored research and proof-of-concept studies; and faculty creating startup organizations. AWS will also help build a secure online research portal designed to meet CUIMC's strict and sensitive biomedical research, security, and compliance needs.
"CUIMC is committed to equipping our research community with world-class computational resources, including through strategic collaborations with leading innovators such as AWS," says Despina Kontos, chief research information officer, CUIMC. "Scientists are increasingly utilizing AI and other cloud-based technologies to speed imaging analysis, identify biomarkers, and analyze massive datasets. This collaboration will give our scientists broad access to the web-based cloud computing and machine learning tools that are fundamental to developing diagnostics and individualized treatment protocols."
AWS will support activities including the Center for Innovation in Imaging Biomarkers and Integrated Diagnostics & AWS Junior Scholars program, which will help early-career scholars accelerate technical skill development in cloud computing, data science, and related disciplines through hands-on experience with AWS cloud technologies. AWS experts will work with the CUIMC community to provide training on recent innovations in AWS artificial intelligence, machine learning, and high-performance computing services.
"This collaboration will help strengthen the CUIMC research ecosystem by providing infrastructure to support Columbia's AI strategy in the health sciences," said Noémie Elhadad, vice dean for AI initiatives at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. "This collaboration will help our researchers to develop and deploy AI solutions more effectively, while maintaining essential rigor and security."
"Our collaboration with AWS will give researchers at CUIMC access to AI tools and resources that are critical for conducting ground-breaking biomedical and clinical research, further advancing Columbia University's leadership as a world-class research institution," said Jeannette Wing, executive vice president for research and professor of computer science at Columbia.
