AI in Scientific Research and Drug Discovery

In this episode of the AI Grand Rounds podcast, Dr. Daphne Koller charts her professional trajectory, tracing her early fascination with computers to her influential role in AI and health care. Initially intrigued by the capacity of computers for decision-making based on theoretical principles, Koller witnessed her niche area — once considered peripheral to AI — grow to dominate the field. Her curiosity led her from abstract theory to practical machine learning applications and eventually to the complex world of biomedicine. Throughout the podcast, Koller shares her shift from pure computer science to the integration of machine learning in biological and medical research. She explains the unique challenges of applying AI to biology, distinguishing it from more deterministic fields, and how these complexities feed into her work at insitro, where she is leveraging AI throughout the drug discovery and development process, from disease understanding to therapeutic application and monitoring. She advocates for the democratizing potential of AI, underscoring its capacity to enable broader participation in scientific inquiry and problem-solving.

Transcript.