Research Teams Receive Funding for Projects Using Biomedical Informatics and AI

The Rutgers Center for Biomedical Informatics and Health Artificial Intelligence selected three research teams for its 2025 Pilot Grant Awards, supporting projects that integrate biomedical informatics and artificial intelligence (AI) to advance health outcomes. The program, established in 2025, provides one year of funding to encourage Rutgers-wide collaborations in data science and AI, with potential for future grant applications. Leslie Lenert, director of the center and professor at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, emphasized the initiative’s focus on innovation and translational impact. The first project, led by Luigi Brunetti, associate professor and chair of Pharmacy Practice, aims to develop AI-driven precision drug response and toxicity prediction. Co-principal investigators Srinivas Denduluri, Erin Roberts-McCarthy, and Rahul Mittal will shift drug management from trial-and-error to a proactive, AI-based model. A second project, led by Tengteng Wang of the Cancer Epidemiology and Health Outcomes section, will study the tumor microbiome in early-onset triple-negative breast cancer. Co-investigators include Elisa V. Bandera, Coral Omene, and Maria Kowzun, focusing on bacterial links to cancer onset and spatial tumor architecture. The grants support research with direct public health applications, reinforcing Rutgers’ role in AI-driven medical advancements.