UH receives $12 million grant for new AI medical research center

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - University of Hawaii researchers have been awarded more than $12 million to establish a new center focused on artificial intelligence and medical research.

The funding from the National Institutes of Health will support the creation of the Pacific Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science in Medicine, or PAC-AID, at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center and the John A. Burns School of Medicine.

The five-year grant, awarded through the NIH’s Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence program, will provide funding through February 2031.

University officials said the center will use artificial intelligence and data science to accelerate biomedical research and improve health outcomes in Hawaii, the Pacific region and beyond.

The project will include renovations to the UH Cancer Center’s data center and the creation of a Medical AI Core, which will provide researchers with advanced computing resources and AI expertise.

PAC-AID will be led by Dr. John Shepherd, chief scientific officer at the UH Cancer Center, and Dr. Youping Deng, co-director of the center’s Genomics and Bioinformatics Shared Resource.

“At the heart of our mission as a flagship research university is the drive to translate innovation into meaningful impact,” said incoming UH Manoa Chancellor Vassilis Syrmos. “PAC-AID is a vital expansion of that mission, enabling our faculty to harness the power of artificial intelligence to pioneer new avenues of biomedical inquiry that were previously unreachable.”

University officials said the center will initially support four major research projects and establish a pilot program for additional studies focused on health challenges affecting Hawaii and Pacific Island communities.

In addition to supporting research, the grant is intended to help develop the next generation of investigators using AI and advanced data science in medicine and public health.

Officials said the project is expected to strengthen Hawaii’s biomedical research capacity and attract additional federal funding in the years ahead.