De arts van morgen - Modernizing Medicine: AI

Prof. Stein Aerts has a multidisciplinary background in both bio-engineering and computer science. During his PhD he was trained in bioinformatics, and during his Postdoc he worked on the genomics of gene regulation in Drosophila. Stein now heads the Laboratory of Computational Biology at the VIB and University of Leuven. His lab focuses on deciphering the genomic regulatory code, using a combination of single-cell, machine-learning, and experimental approaches. His recent scientific contributions include new bioinformatics methods for the analysis of single-cell gene regulatory networks, namely SCENIC and cisTopic; new experimental assays for single-cell ATAC-seq (HyDrop) and for massively parallel enhancer reporter assays; deep learning implementations for enhancer modelling (DeepMEL, DeepFlyBrain, DeepLiver); and methods for AI-driven design of synthetic enhancers for gene therapy. Stein co-founded the Fly Cell Atlas consortium and generated a single-cell atlas of the ageing Drosophila brain. Stein was awarded the 2017 Prize for Bioinformatics and Computational Science from the Biotech Fund and the 2016 Astrazeneca Foundation Award Bioinformatics. He is EMBO member since 2022, obtained an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2016, and an ERC Advanced Grant in 2022. In 2023 Stein founded VIB.AI, the VIB Center for AI and Computational Biology, where he is currently the Scientific Director.

Prof. dr. Maarten De Vos is hoogleraar aan de faculteiten Ingenieurswetenschappen en Geneeskunde van KU Leuven. Hij richt zich op het verbeteren van data science-benaderingen voor verschillende toepassingen in de gezondheidszorg. Zijn AI-oplossingen worden gebruikt op verschillende ziekenhuisafdelingen, variërend van neonatologie tot ouderenzorg.

Lode Lauwaert (1981) is hoogleraar aan het Hoger Instituut voor Wijsbegeerte in Leuven. Hij studeerde psychologie en filosofie, en was gastonderzoeker aan de universiteiten van Wenen (Oostenrijk), Stellenbosch (Zuid-Afrika) en Boston (VS). Zijn onderzoek en onderwijs focussen op technologie vanuit ethiek, cultuurfilosofie en wijsgerige antropologie.

Hij interesseert zich voor hedendaagse Franse filosofie, techniekfilosofie, geweld in al zijn facetten en filosofie van het voetbal. Hij brengt regelmatig filosofie naar een breder publiek, onder meer via lezingen en stukjes in de media. Zijn jongste pennenvrucht is het boek ‘Wij, Robots‘, uitgegeven bij Lannoo.

As a seasoned executive specialising in healthcare and life sciences, I have built a career on fostering strategic partnerships and nurturing long-term collaborations that drive industry innovation and growth. With a proven track record in leading multicultural teams, I ensure the financial sustainability of organisations and projects, making significant contributions to the development of industry-leading entities.

Dr. Pieter De Backer leads the Orsi Innotech department, where Orsi bridges the technological gap between medicine and engineering through innovation. His team focuses primarly on developing Artificial Intelligence based surgical systems and patient-specific 3D modeling.

Pieter is a civil engineer and medical doctor with a passion for new medical technologies.

After specializing in biomedical engineering and micro-electronics for his engineering degree, Pieter made a stop in the robotics industry. Subsequently, he decided to pursue his long standing passion for medicine and obtained his medical degree. Next, he spent 3 years in general surgery and urology residency. Pieter is passionate about bringing new technologies to the operating room. He has elaborate hands-on experience in micro-electronics, 3D printing, A.I. and patient-specific computer simulations.

• Radiology and Medical Imaging

• Clinical expertise domain: interventional vascular and non-vascular radiologie

• Research: broad coverage of all human radiology with focus on cardiac imaging, perfusion imaging, interventional radiology, functional imaging and artificial intelligence in imaging.

R&D Professional Data Gedreven Gezondheidsbevordering at VITO