Second generation AI chatbot for positive body image being funded

The positive body image chatbot is being further
developed with a Telematics Trust grant

Congratulations to Associate Professor Gemma Sharp of the Department of Neuroscience, who has been awarded a Telematics Trust grant for $50,000. The focus of these grants is to fund technology which can transform the lives of Victorians through education. 

A/Prof Sharp led the team which developed the world's first pilot positive body image conversational AI agent or chatbot. The pilot was highly successful with over 20,000 users in Australia in under 12 months.

The grant will allow for the development and evaluation of a second generation chatbot in collaboration with researchers in Monash's Faculty of Iinformation Technology. A/Prof Sharp said, "This next generation chatbot will have much more sophisticated conversational AI which will likely lead to even higher usage and greater benefits to body image and mental health."

Monash AI model may help epilepsy patients become seizure-free

The 2D plane shows the machine learning model is able to

identify patterns between patients at the different centres.

A study led by Monash University and believed to be a world first has demonstrated that an Artificial Intelligence (AI)  model can potentially predict the best personalised, anti-seizure medication for patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy.

The predictive model, once fully developed, would spare these patients the uncertainty of not knowing when their lives would be returned to normal by taking anti-seizure medications, and possibly the harmful side-effects associated with some drugs.

See faculty story here.

Investing in AI and mental health: training our future graduates

The Women's Mental Health Clinic (WMHC) in CCS's Department

of Psychiatry is one of the collaborating members of the successful

 bid for the CSIRO Next Generation Graduates Program

With strong support from industry and in partnership with Monash Data Futures Institute, the Faculty of IT at Monash University will be leading and contributing to three projects in CSIRO Data61’s Next Gen Graduates Programs – ready to deliver critical skills in artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging tech.

The cohort-based, industry-driven, cross-disciplinary training program focuses on expanding the pipeline of homegrown, job-ready graduates to unlock the immense economic opportunities offered by AI and emerging technologies.

Zeroing in on improved brain cancer diagnosis and treatment: Rare Disease Day feature

See Prof Meng Law and Dr Mastura Monif explain their research

into improved diagnostic techniques and potential treatments

for brain cancer: Video (3:39 mins)

Part of our special series for Rare Disease Day featuring CCS researchers 

Dr Mastura Monif and Professor Meng Law explain how their complementary approaches are refining and improving the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumours. See the video and read their stories below.

Interdisciplinary Lightning Talks on AI Applications in Medical Imaging

1 April talk features CCS's Prof Meng Law in a panel of four.
Find out more and register here

Monash Data Futures Institute is the access point to the breadth of Monash University's expertise in Artificial Intelligence and data science for social good.

Through this Interdisciplinary Lightning Talk Series, we aim to provide a platform for the AI and data science research community across Monash University to meet, connect, discuss current projects, identify opportunities to leverage each other’s expertise, and spark ideas for future collaborations both internal and with external partners.

New era of personalised epilepsy management

"Epilepsy in a dish" model. Fig.2 from the article

The British Medicine Journal (BMJ) has launched a series of articles profiling brain health. In their words,  "what it is, why it is important, and how we can better prevent and treat brain disorders to improve health across the world, especially as populations become older."

Professor Patrick Kwan and colleagues contribute to the series with their article, "New era of personalised epilepsy management". They write, "The trial and error approach to epilepsy treatment has not changed for over a century but machine learning and patient-derived stem cells promise a personalised and more effective strategy."