On November 3, 2023, we were delighted to host Professor Kun Huang from Indiana University at the Lihu Campus of Shenzhen University. Professor Huang was invited by Professor Jun Cheng (School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University Medical School) to deliver a talk titled "Computational Pathology and Integrative Genomics for Precision Medicine Research", marking the 88^th talk of the Shenzhen University Medicine Forum.

Professor Huang first introduced the wealth of information typically contained in medical big data and outlined the challenges faced in extracting and leveraging the data for research purposes. He then focused on genomic data - a crucial component of medical big data – which can be mined to unearth relationships between gene expression and disease, and help potential therapeutic targets.

Next, Professor Huang outlined how single-cell analytical tools are improving our understanding of the relationships between gene expression and cellular heterogeneity. He explained how single-cell technology enables researchers to delve into the differences in gene expression and functionality among cells, elucidating the mechanisms underlying diseases and uncovering associations with rare cell subpopulations.

Professor Huang then shared some of the latest accomplishments made by his research group in the quantitative analysis of pathological images. By utilizing computer vision and image analysis techniques, he explained how his team can precisely analyze pathological images, providing an accurate basis for disease diagnosis and treatment. Technology such as this has great clinical implication due to the improved efficiency in analyzing and interpreting a large volume of pathological images within a short period. The subsequent reduction in waiting time improves the likelihood of early disease detection and diagnostic accuracy.

Finally, Professor Kun summarized the current challenges in medical data analysis and shared his unique insights into the future research directions of the field. This led to a lively question and answer session regarding the application of artificial intelligence in the fields of bioinformatics and computational pathology. This clear and engaging lecture outlining cutting-edge research and achievements was hugely appreciated by the staff and students in attendance.

Brief introduction of the Speaker:

Professor Kun Huang, PhD, leads the Precision Health Initiative Data Science and Informatics group at Indiana University, and is the Director of the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Core for the TREAT-AD program for Alzheimer’s therapy development. Professor Huang also serves as Associate Director for data science at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center and leads the data science and informatics service for the National Cancer Institute Pediatric Cancer SPORE grant-funded research program. His research interests include translational bioinformatics, computational pathology, biomedical imaging, precision health, and machine learning. He is particularly interested in utilizing translational informatics tools to enhance clinical practice and accelerate scientific discoveries.

Professor Jun Cheng presented Professor Kun Huang with the "Shenzhen University Medicine Forum" Honorary Medal