The Journal, Artificial Intelligence in the Life Sciences, Highlights the Contributions of Women in Artificial Intelligence in the Life Sciences
London,
January
30,
2023
–
The
journal,
Artificial
Intelligence
in
the
Life
Sciences
(AILSCI),
published
by
Elsevier,
is
set
to
release
a
special
Themed
Article
Collection
(TAC):
Women
in
AI
in
the
Life
Sciences.
Many
female
scientists
have
spearheaded
ground-breaking
research
in
this
field,
but
despite
their
invaluable
contributions,
they
often
do
not
receive
the
visibility
they
deserve.
AILSCI
is
on
a
quest
to
help
female
scientists
get
recognised
for
their
contributions
and
to
enhance
the
visibility
of
their
work
in
the
field
of
AI
in
the
life
sciences.
This
TAC
will
showcase
the
contributions
driven
by
young
and
late-stage
investigators
—
stellar
scientists
in
their
own
right
—
who
solve
biomedical-,
healthcare-,
or
chemistry-based
research
problems
using
AI.
AI,
encompassing
various
disciplines
including,
among
others,
machine
learning
(ML),
natural
language
processing,
and
computer
vision,
has
significantly
impacted
human
life.
Over
the
last
decade,
it
has
turned
into
the
driving
force
behind
many
emerging
technologies.
Its
applications
are
embedded
in
our
daily
lives
as
voice
assistants,
image
recognition
software,
food
delivery
apps,
navigation
apps,
and
much
more.
Interestingly,
AI
applications
also
play
a
significant
role
in
the
highly
complex
and
interdisciplinary
field
of
life
sciences.
The
journal
is
aiming
to
invite
women
to
showcase
their
research
in
the
AI
arena,
even
if
they
may
feel
less
confident,
due
to
limited
opportunities.
As
increasingly
more
female
scientists
come
to
the
forefront
to
share
their
accomplishments,
they
will
indeed
be
a
source
of
inspiration
for
new
entrants
in
the
field
of
AI.
Female
investigators
report
that
it
is
still
common
for
women’s
inputs
to
be
neglected
by
team
members
during
discussions.
At
times,
their
ideas
are
repeated
by
other
colleagues,
and
hence,
falsely
considered
as
the
other
person’s
contribution.
As
a
result,
women
in
AI,
especially
new
entrants
in
the
field,
tend
to
suffer
from
impostor
syndrome
and
may
gradually
begin
to
participate
less
in
public
events.
These
issues
are
heightened
by
salary
inequities
for
women
in
the
field.
Such
challenges,
attributable
to
an
unconscious
gender
bias
in
the
workplace,
make
the
AI
industry
trickier
to
navigate
for
a
woman.
In
late
2022,
AILSCI
hosted
a
webinar
to
discuss
and
recognise
women’s
contributions
to
the
practical
applications
and
theoretical
advances
of
artificial
intelligence
in
the
life
sciences,
and
the
challenges
they
face
in
the
industry.
During
the
webinar,
one
of
the
panellists,
Dr.
Raquel
Rodríguez-Pérez,
Principal
Scientist
at
Novartis
Institutes
for
BioMedical
Research,
talked
about
how
she
uses
ML
and
data
science
to
predict
particular
properties
of
new
compounds.
It
helps
her
immensely
with
decision-making,
from
prioritising
compound
modifications
to
narrowing
down
future
experimental
directions.
Similarly,
Dr.
Rebecca
Swett,
a
Senior
Scientist
at
Relay
Therapeutics,
talked
about
how
she
optimises
synthesised
compound
libraries
using
ML.
She
makes
use
of
an
aggressive
ML
cycle,
where
AI
is
applied
to
multiple
aspects
of
drug
design
to
generate
high-quality,
accurate
models
for
candidate
drug
compounds.
The
webinar
led
to
a
candid
and
engaging
discussion,
in
which
multiple
solutions
were
proposed
on
how
organisations
such
as
AILSCI
can
tackle
an
unconscious
bias
against
women.
The
panellists
stressed
that
inviting
female
investigators
to
submit
their
manuscripts
could
be
a
good
start.Attendees
also
nominated
female
scientists
for
theAILSCIeditorial
board
to
invite
to
join
future
events
planned
for
this
special
collection.
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