Principal Investigator: Parminder Basran

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): 

There is tremendous growth and potential in the development, application, and clinical use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, and the emergence of AI in veterinary medicine poses exciting and new opportunities to improve the quality of life of animals with direct and indirect benefits to human health at the individual and population levels. This proposal requests partial support for a Symposium on Artificial Intelligence and VeterinarY Medicine (SAVY) to be held at the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine, April 19-21, 2024. The purpose of this symposium is to provide, for the first time, an opportunity for discussion and collaboration amongst researchers who focus exclusively on the intersectionality of veterinary medicine and artificial intelligence, foster cross-disciplinary discussions and collaborations, and provide an opportunity for students, faculty, and the private sector to learn from each other in this rapidly developing field. The significance of this symposium is that it provides a platform to discuss these innovations, how they might affect clinical practice of veterinarians, the quality of life of animals, and socio-economic and environmental factors. The objective of this symposium is to provide an open and welcoming place for learners, researchers, clinicians, and industry leaders to discuss the future of AI in veterinary medicine. Our specific aims will be to i) host a 2.5 day symposium on veterinary medicine and AI within four focus areas: population medicine, companion animal medicine, livestock health, and human medicine; ii) provide modest to free registration fees for attendees to reduce barriers to this content; iii) organize and summarize a 0.5 day workshop for attendees to identify and address areas of research; and iv) publish and digitally archive presentations. Four world-leading AI researchers who focus on (i) human medicine, (ii) companion animal health, (iii) population medicine, and (iv) livestock health will be invited for keynote presentations, examining different AI approaches, such as computer vision, natural language processing, and speech recognition. Invited speakers and presenters will be carefully considered to ensure diversity in attendees, expertise, perspectives, and practices.