AI applications in cancer care and research
This session will provide insights on how the field of artificial intelligence (AI) is being used in different cancer contexts. A brief introduction on AI in cancer care will be followed by presentations from the research and health services perspectives. Dr Waddington will highlight the challenges of building and robustly deploying AI in a radiation therapy environment. Mr Warner-Smith will discuss the work undertaken by the CINSW to evaluate and subsequently implement AI for mammography screening in BreastScreen NSW. The presentations will be followed by a Q&A time.
Speakers
Professor Nehmat Houssami is a clinician researcher and Public Health physician. She leads the Breast Cancer Clinical and Population Health Research group at the Daffodil Centre and is Professor of Public Health at the University of Sydney. She has worked in breast imaging and screening services for 30 years and is a clinician at the Royal Hospital for Women. She formed the University of Sydney Cancer Research Network’s AI in Cancer Care special interest group in 2019 and has been a member of the TGA’s Advisory Committee on Medical Devices (2020-25) and the Expert Advisory Group for BreastScreen Australia National Policy Review (2023-25). Nehmat is the inaugural National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) Chair in Cancer Prevention, and an NHMRC Investigator (Leader) Fellow.
Dr David Waddington is an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow at the Image X Institute at the University of Sydney. He specialises in developing new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) methods to
improve cancer detection and precision radiotherapy. David completed his PhD at the University of Sydney and was awarded a Postgraduate Fulbright Scholarship to Harvard University. He has published first-author research in multidisciplinary journals including Nature Communications and Science Advances, resulting in two patent applications. His work has received international recognition, including Best in Physics awards from the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and Summa Cum Laude awards from the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.
Matthew Warner-Smith is the Manager, Business Intelligence & Information Systems in the Screening and Prevention Division of the Cancer Institute NSW. Matthew is an operational leader at the Cancer Institute NSW with over 25 years’ experience in public health in a diverse range of government and multilateral settings. Prior to joining the Cancer Institute Matthew worked in the United Nations system developing surveillance systems for illicit drug use in Africa and the Middle East, and monitoring and reporting on national responses to HIV and AIDS. Matthew completed his Masters of Public Health in 1997 at the University of Sydney, with a focus on international health and tobacco control.
This seminar is part of the NSW Cancer Research Education Seminar Series hosted by SPHERE Cancer CAG, Sydney Cancer Partners and the Regional Cancer Research Network. These seminars are held on the 3rd Tuesday of every month.
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