06 May 2021

12:00 p.m. ET

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Marshall Summar, M.D.

Children's National HospitalWashington, DC

Cynthia Tifft, M.D., Ph.D.

National Institutes of HealthBethesda, MD

Jimeng Sun, Ph.D.

University of Illinois, Urbana-ChampaignChampaign, IL

Helena Kriinen, M.D., Ph.D.

Finnish Institute for Health and WelfareHelsinki, Finland

Sean Sanders, Ph.D.

Science/AAASWashington, DC

By their nature, rare diseases are difficult to detect because of their low overall occurrence in most populations. Improving identification and detection of these disorders, particularly early in the life of the patient, can have profound effects on the course of the disease and the quality of life of the patient and their family. This webinar will examine methods for detecting patients with rare diseases, particularly those with underlying genetic causes, explained in plain language. Our expert panel will describe the benefits and limitations of genetic testing, recent advances, and new technologies, including how developments in artificial intelligence might help uncover hidden rare diseases. Only a decade ago it cost a billion dollars to conduct a full genomic analysis; now this can be done for about $1,000. But how useful and actionable are the results? The variety of genetic tests available provide an array of information that can be confusing to the general population and medical practitioners alike. Tune in to learn how and why genetic testing is done, how to interpret the results, and what impact these results can have on families and patients managing a rare disease.

This webinar will last for approximately 60 minutes.

Children's National HospitalWashington, DC

Dr. Summar is well-known for his pioneering work in caring for children diagnosed with rare diseases. He came to Childrens National Hospital in Washington, DC, in 2010 from Vanderbilt University and holds board certifications in both pediatrics and clinical genetics as well as biochemical genetics. At Childrens National, he leads the Division of Genetics and Metabolism, currently the largest clinical division of its kind in the world, overseeing 8,000 patients a year with rare diseases. His laboratory works on both devices and treatments for patients with genetic diseases while also supporting advancements in mainstream medicine through education about these disorders. His work has resulted in new drugs in U.S. Food and Drug Administration trials for patients with congenital heart disease and premature birth. Dr. Summar holds more than 60 patents and has published more than 160 peer-reviewed research studies. He developed and launched the worlds first Rare Disease Institute (RDI) at Childrens National, which recently opened its new location on the Childrens National Research & Innovation Campus, a first-of-its-kind pediatric research and innovation hub located in Washington, DC.

National Institutes of HealthBethesda, MD

Dr. Tifft received her M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Texas Health Science Center and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston. She completed her pediatric residency training at Johns Hopkins Hospital and her clinical genetics fellowship in the Inter-Institute Medical Genetics Training Program at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Following her fellowship, she joined the faculty at Childrens National Medical Center and became chair of the Division of Genetics and Metabolism in 1996. After 12 years as division chair, she was recruited to the National Human Genome Research Institute at NIH to become deputy clinical director and to direct the pediatric portion of the NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program. Dr. Tiffts research interests include the natural history and pathogenesis of lysosomal storage disorders affecting the central nervous system, particularly Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff diseases, and GM1 gangliosidosis. In 2019, she and her collaborators, with support from Sio Gene Therapies, initiated a first-in-human phase 1/2 AAV9 intravenous gene therapy trial for patients with Type II GM1 gangliosidosis.

University of Illinois, Urbana-ChampaignChampaign, IL

Dr. Sun is a Health Innovation Professor at the Computer Science Department and at Carle Illinois College of Medicine at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Before coming to UIUC, he was an associate professor in the College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His research focuses on artificial intelligence (AI) for healthcare, including deep learning for drug discovery, clinical trial optimization, computational phenotyping, clinical predictive modeling, treatment recommendation, and health monitoring. He was recognized as one of the Top 100 AI Leaders in Drug Discovery and Advanced Healthcare by Deep Knowledge Analytics. Dr. Sun has published over 120 papers and filed over 20 patents, 5 of which have been granted. He received the SIAM Conference on Data Mining (SDM)/IBM Early Career Data Mining Research Award in 2017, the IEEE ICDM Best Paper Award in 2008, the SDM Best Research Paper Award in 2007, and the SIGKDD Dissertation Award (runner-up) in 2008. He completed his B.S. and M.Phil. in computer science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2002 and 2003, respectively, and his Ph.D. in computer science at Carnegie Mellon University in 2007.

Finnish Institute for Health and WelfareHelsinki, Finland

Dr. Kriinen is a specialist in medical genetics and an expert in rare diseases and genetic counseling. She is retired but works part-time as a research professor at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). She also works as a consultant clinical geneticist at Blueprint Genetics Laboratory and at Norio Centre of Rare Diseases. She previously worked as a professor of medical genetics at Helsinki and Turku Universities and in various posts at Helsinki and Turku University Hospitals. She has held active roles in the European Society of Human Genetics, including as president from 2014 to 2015. She has been a Work Package/Unit Leader in European Union projects aimed at creating guidelines and tools for improving the quality of genetic counseling in Europe. She has also been the Finnish representative on several EU rare-disease committees and boards, as well as Finnish national ethical boards. In her present work, she has tasks relating to THL Biobank research. Her research interests are rare diseases, genetic testing and counseling, and public health genetics.

Science/AAASWashington, DC

Dr. Sanders did his undergraduate training at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and his Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge, UK, supported by the Wellcome Trust. Following postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health and Georgetown University, Dr. Sanders joined TranXenoGen, a startup biotechnology company in Massachusetts working on avian transgenics. Pursuing his parallel passion for writing and editing, Dr. Sanders joined BioTechniques as an editor, before joining Science/AAAS in 2006. Currently, Dr. Sanders is the Director and Senior Editor for Custom Publishing for the journal Science and Program Director for Outreach.

More:

Detecting rare disease: Revealing the methods, motivations, and implications - Science Magazine

Landing a summer internship or trying to realize a career path are consistent concerns hanging over the heads of Vassar College students. Hiring managers may be very specific in what they look for. It can be exceptionally difficult to obtain a job or internship offer, particularly from companies or workplaces that are renowned in their field. Many of the qualifications work opportunities call for involve research, communication, interviews and a certain degree of technological expertise. What better way to meet these demands than to introduce a journalism department and major at Vassar?

Job opportunities typically present to the online public the qualifications that they desire or require, and if a student is interested in journalism as a career path, Journalism Major may be one of them. Matching that job qualification can be a very important part of increasing the probability of getting interviewed or hired because it shows the hiring manager that a student has taken a curriculum that covers the tenets of that particular field of study. Journalism in the workplace, whether it be covering local sports or interning in a major newsroom, requires a wide set of skills dealing with understanding how to appeal to others, communicating effectively and with integrity and mastering technological means of completing tasks.

In a school that prides itself on its increasing emphasis on a multidisciplinary approach to intellectual inquiry, journalism would be an ideal multidisciplinary major at Vassar. I imagine that the curriculums format would be similar to that of International Studies, but journalism would expand to even more branches of Vassar academics. The curriculum would not only include components from different departments, but also different curricular divisions. Theoretically, courses within this kind of a curriculum can include Computer Science, History, Economics, Art, or other relevant courses that are cross-listed with journalism.

When thinking about journalism, one may conjure up images of a pen and notepad, or standing in front of cameras and speaking. But there are more aspects to the practice of journalism than solely reporting, writing, anchoring and broadcasting. Key components of the journalism field also include methods of distribution and production for which the Computer Science, Mathematics and Art Departments could prove handy alongside departments within the Social Sciences division that promote writing and research skills. Washington and Lee University, an institution with a smaller undergraduate enrollment than Vassar, has a Journalism department that includes options to take courses in Data Science, Politics, and Philosophy. The breadth of a journalism curriculum would allow Vassar students to develop skills they feel are most important to them, even having the opportunity to choose between STEM or humanities in a journalistic respect.

Introducing journalism courses at Vassar would not just be about helping students secure work with CNN or Vox. Its a field of study that covers many different functions and possibilities. Interested students should have the opportunity to occasionally take one or a few journalism courses pertaining to their STEM or humanities interests without having to commit to a degree. A sociology major can take journalism courses to help develop data gathering and interviewing skills for future research projects, for instance. The existence of a journalism major would actually be helpful for students who are dead set on non-interdisciplinary majors such as Political Science, History, Computer Science or Art, but also want to hammer out some of the eight units required outside of their curricular division of concentration while at the same time benefiting from relevant skills that would directly benefit their careers. As part of a major, second major or minor, taking journalism courses can be a healthy skill-building complement to a more rigid concentration like Political Science.

All around, a journalism department at Vassar has the potential to bring many unique advantages to the student body. It would allow students to build real world skills, dive into different departments and curricular divisions, complement their more specific passions and possibly match the desires of more hiring managers. Such a major, degree, department and curriculum could mark its place as an expansive path for Vassar students. Columbia University offers a dual degree in Journalism and Computer Science, so why cant we do something similar by introducing a new multidisciplinary powerhouse ourselves?

Read more here:

The potential merits of a journalism department at Vassar The Miscellany News - Miscellany News

At the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees meeting March 5, numerous faculty members were appointed or promoted with tenure or granted tenure, effective July 1 unless otherwise indicated.

Ruopeng An to associate professor at the Brown School;

Arpita Bose to associate professor of biology in Arts & Sciences;

Hong Chen to associate professor of biomedical engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering;Francesco Di Plinio to associate professor of mathematics in Arts & Sciences;

Ali Hassan Ellebedy to associate professor of pathology and immunology at the School of Medicine;

Daniel S. Epps to professor of law at the School of Law;

Vanessa Duffy Fabbre to associate professor at the Brown School;

Roman M. Garnett to associate professor of computer science and engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering;

Joseph P. Gaut to professor of pathology and immunology at the School of Medicine;

Jonathan Hanahan to associate professor of art at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts;

Erik A. Henriksen to associate professor of physics in Arts & Sciences;

Brendan A. Juba to associate professor of computer science and engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering;

I-Ting Angelina Lee to associate professor of computer science and engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering;

Diane Wei Lewis to associate professor of film and media studies in Arts & Sciences;

Ta-Chiang Liu, MD, PhD, to associate professor of pathology and immunology at the School of Medicine (tenure effective March 5);

Sojung Park to associate professor at the Brown School;

Rachel E. Sachs to professor of law at the School of Law;

Keith E. Schnakenberg to associate professor of political science in Arts & Sciences;

Elijah J. Thimsen to associate professor of energy, environmental and chemical engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering;

Daniel Lyndon Jaffe Thorek to associate professor of radiology at the School of Medicine (tenure effective March 5); and

Xuan Zhang to associate professor of electrical and systems engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering.

Peter Brunner as associate professor of neurological surgery at the School of Medicine (tenure effective March 5);

Claudia Swan as professor of art history in Arts & Sciences (tenure effective March 5); and

Jon T. Willie, MD, PhD, as associate professor of neurological surgery at the School of Medicine (tenure effective March 5).

Jeremy Bertomeu as associate professor of accounting (tenure effective March 5).

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Board grants faculty appointments, promotions, tenure | The Source | Washington University in St. Louis - Washington University in St. Louis Newsroom

The concern about an artificial intelligence, or AI, workforce shortage in the United States is rapidly becoming a top national security priority. Calls for additional legislative action are mounting as the national security community sees talent as a key enabler in outcompeting China. An increasing number of proposals, including those in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act and others based on the recommendations of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, have the goal of growing and cultivating the domestic AI workforce based on the premise of shortages.

However, there is little data on actual U.S. AI labor market dynamics to inform whether there is an AI workforce shortage, and if so, what type and to what extent. Moreover, there is no standard definition of AI workforce. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, to determine which workers are in short supply and how to best address it.

Workforce shortages generally come in two distinct forms, which is important for targeting policy. The first is a skills shortage in the traditional economic sense: an insufficient supply of talent with specific, in-demand skills often due to high barriers to entry. For example, a critical AI occupation often discussed synonymously with AI workforce, computer research scientists, requires years of advanced education and training. Domestic supply is limited, and as a result, the United States also relies on foreign talent.

The second type is a local talent shortage, in an organization or geographic area. There are many possible reasons for local shortages workers geographic preferences, state occupational licensing requirements and, at the organizational level, limited career advancement opportunities, poor hiring practices, uniquely specific skills and/or experience requirements, below market average wages and compensation, among others.

New CSET research provides insight into the reality of U.S. AI talent shortages. We assess the state of the U.S. AI workforce, analyzing traditional economic indicators like employment and wages. We use an occupation-based definition of the AI workforce, enabling analysis using occupational data collected by the federal government over time. We also consider the entire team of talent involved with the design, development and implementation of AI.

To assess the extent of shortages, we focus on five key occupations: Computer and information research scientists; software developers; mathematicians, statisticians and data scientists; user experience designers and project management specialists.

Although it is difficult to make an evidence-based determination, we find three variations in workforce dynamics across the five occupations. First, extremely strong employment and wage growth for computer and information research scientists over 2015 to 2019, coupled with high barriers to entry, likely indicates there is more demand than supply. Second, in other high-demand occupations such as software developers and data scientists, our analysis suggests existing education pipelines have responded as designed to meet rising demand. Over 2015 to 2018, for example, computer science and engineering were the fastest growing undergraduate majors, adding more than 200,000 new graduates. Third, in the case of project management specialists and user experience designers, we do not find evidence of a gap in demand relative to supply.

The divergent trends within the AI workforce have implications for future policy. Importantly, we need to prioritize growing, cultivating, and attracting the highest tier of AI talent. Previous CSET research recommends increasing graduate education scholarships and reforming and streamlining immigration pathways for top AI talent entering the U.S. This also involves a better understanding of STEM workforce pipeline leakages domestically, which start early and continue throughout the entire education lifecycle and well into ones career.

For technical occupations where talent pipelines are working, we need to ensure their sustainability; for example, by incentivizing AI companies to closely partner with state workforce boards and universities to help schools prepare students with the necessary skills. For nontechnical AI occupations, the diversity of potential backgrounds suggests prioritizing AI literacy education for everyone.

Finally, in the quest to expand the talent pipeline, the prevailing wisdom of the need for a four-year college degree should be carefully considered. The current proliferation of certifications, coding academies and other online courses aimed at upskilling U.S. workers provide an alternate pathway for some. However, it is unclear if most employers are accepting these alternative credentials. This creates a risk of leaving many potentially qualified workers on the sidelines, if non-college graduates are less able to compete.

Effective education and workforce policy requires understanding the relevant labor market dynamics, including insights on the existence of workforce shortages. Our research suggests that policies aimed at equipping Americas talent for tomorrows jobs cannot and should not be a one-size-fits-all approach.

Diana Gehlhaus is a research fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), focused on AI education and workforce issues as it relates to the United States, China, and U.S. Department of Defense. Follow her on Twitter @dianagcarew.

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The reality of America's AI talent shortages | TheHill - The Hill

Its unlikely but possible that right now, someone, somewhere, is trying to hack the components in a pacemaker from hundreds of miles away.

Hacking a pacemaker is an extreme example, but Ning Zhang uses it to emphasize the very real threat posed by vulnerabilities in the interactions between the cyber and physical worlds. And Zhang says these vulnerabilities extend beyond medical equipment to objects such as delivery drones and much more.

Zhang is an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering. He joined the faculty in 2018 after 11 years at Raytheon, a defense contractor, where he worked to protect critical network and cyber-physical infrastructures.

Clearly, no one has the free time to exploit the vulnerabilities inside the pacemaker to kill you from hundreds of miles away, he says. However, its still not good knowing this is possible.

Recognizing those vulnerabilities is Zhangs first research goal: We want to recognize the possibility and then, as a second goal, try to stop it before it manifests into a bigger threat.

Although a super strong pacemaker disrupter may not show up anytime soon, Zhang says the idea of a cyberattack encroaching on the physical world in a direct and deadly way isnt just a hypothetical.

Ransomware is already doing just that at hospitals, he says. In 2020, a patient died while being transported to another hospital after hackers shut down the computer systems at Dsseldorf University Hospital, where she was being treated.

Clearly, no one has the free time to exploit the vulnerabilities inside a pacemaker to kill you from hundreds of miles away. However, its still not good knowing this is possible.

Although he is a specialist in the technological side of things, Zhang says its often the hidden complexities of the physical world that we can use to our advantage. Take deepfake videos, a somewhat new technology that allows anyone to make a video that looks and sounds real, using real peoples images and voices. This technology is widely available, and some people think it has the potential to do enormous harm, including ruin a marriage with a fake rendezvous or start a war by issuing fake videos of heads of state.

It might be possible to leverage the properties of a physical phenomenon to prove that an image is not a deepfake, Zhang says. Fabricating physical properties is very difficult, as opposed to copying bits of 0s and 1s.

In September 2020, Zhang and collaborators were awarded a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to strengthen the security and safety of cyber-physical systems across a variety of fields, from defense to the medical industry.

Our project aims to develop technology, he says, and to push this technology to the limit to see where it breaks down, so the broader community can build on top of our results and make an informed decision.

Its this method of developing and testing technology that pitted Zhang against a cell-phone personal assistant. He exposed a vulnerability in the security that would allow a person to take control of a cell phone from a distance by using ultrasonic waves. And then, he proposed ways to use the physical world to protect against such an attack: the interlayer-based defense, which uses a soft, woven fabric to increase the impedance mismatch.

In other words, put the phone on a tablecloth. Or better yet, just keep it in your pocket.

Link:

Keeping hackers at bay | The Source | Washington University in St. Louis - Washington University in St. Louis Newsroom