The NLM Colloquia on Biomedical Data Science and Computational Biology Research is a regularly scheduled series of scientific lectures presented by the NLM Division of Intramural Research (DIR), a premier hub of innovation for computational biology and biomedical data science.
The NLM DIR invites experts from outside NLM to present at the Colloquia, where they can share their insights with research communities across NIH and worldwide in the rapidly evolving fields of biomedical data science and computational biology research, as well as how their work impacts these topic areas.
2026 NLM Colloquia Series
Harnessing AI and Informatics for Dementia and Aging Research
Event Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Time: 12:00pm–1:00pm
Speaker: Li Shen, PhD
Location: NLM Auditorium, Building 38A, and virtual via NIH Videocast
Abstract:
Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) remain a major health crisis with profound social and economic burdens. Innovative strategies are needed to identify genetic risk and protective factors, model disease mechanisms, and accelerate therapeutic discovery. Advances in AI and informatics now enable the integration of multimodal genetics, omics, imaging, and outcome data from large biobanks, creating powerful opportunities for biomarker and gene discovery beyond categorical diagnoses. At the same time, generative AI and large language models (LLMs) extend these capabilities to text-rich sources such as scientific literature, clinical notes, and caregiver narratives. When integrated with knowledge graphs, LLMs can dynamically retrieve and synthesize domain-specific knowledge, improving interpretability and advancing biomarker and drug discovery. Equally important, AI applied to conversational datasets and social media can help uncover caregiver needs and power novel mental health support tools. This talk will highlight how these approaches can advance both the science of ADRD and the care of older adults and their caregivers.
Speaker Bio:
Li Shen, Ph.D., is a Professor of Informatics and Radiology at the Perelman School of Medicine in the University of Pennsylvania. He serves as the Associate Director for Bioinformatics at the Penn Institute for Biomedical Informatics and Co-Director of the Penn Center for AI and Data Science for Integrated Diagnostics. His research spans machine learning, medical image computing, biomedical and health informatics, trustworthy AI, NLP/LLMs, network science, imaging genomics, and multi-omics and systems biology, with applications to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) and other complex disorders. His primary focus is on developing and applying advanced AI strategies to analyze large-scale biobank and health datasets, with the goal of advancing the understanding, early detection, treatment, prevention, and overall healthcare of complex disorders. He also explores emerging frontiers such as generative AI, agentic AI, and trustworthy multimodal AI to push the boundaries of biomedical research. He served as the Executive Director of the Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI) Society between 2016 and 2019. He is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), a fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI), a fellow of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), a distinguished member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and a distinguished contributor of the IEEE Computer Society.
How to Join:
Location: NLM Auditorium, Building 38A
This talk will also be broadcast live: NIH Videocast
Interpreting services are available upon request. Individuals with disabilities who need reasonable accommodation to participate in this lecture should contact NLMColloquia@nih.gov or the Federal Relay (1-800-877-8339).
Questions during the presentation can be sent to: NLMColloquia@nih.gov.
Sponsored by:
Richard Scheuermann, PhD
Scientific Director, Division of Intramural Research, National Library of Medicine