AI meets medicine, UCSD Bioengineering Seminar, Fall 2025

Abstract Artificial Intelligence (AI) has experienced cycles of enthusiasm and skepticism throughout its history. Today, AI is actively transforming biomedical research. This seminar will provide historical context on AI's evolution, emphasizing key milestones in biology and medicine. Recent advances from our laboratory, such as AI-driven blood-based diagnostics for early disease detection and innovative therapeutic strategies targeting Alzheimer's disease, will be presented as illustrative examples. Speaker Bio Dr. Sheng Zhong is a Professor of Bioengineering at the University of California San Diego, where he directs the Center for AI in Biomedicine. His interdisciplinary research integrates omics technologies, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and translational medicine, with a particular focus on the interactions among genomes, RNA, and proteins. Sheng’s work has contributed to the discovery of cell surface RNA, the characterization of regulatory functions of chromatin associated RNA, and the identification of PHGDH as an upstream molecular driver of Alzheimer’s disease. His research aims to translate fundamental biological discoveries into new approaches for disease diagnosis and treatment. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering, the Asia Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the National Academy of Artificial Intelligence. Sheng is also the founder of Neurospan, a biotechnology company developing oral, brain penetrant small molecule medicines for Alzheimer’s disease.