Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and data science are reshaping medicine, with the potential to improve diagnosis, expand access to care and drive new research, a national health leader said during a recent lecture at the University of Maine.
Speaking as part of the Maine College of Engineering and Computing Distinguished Lecture Series, co-hosted by the Office of the Vice President for Research, Michael F. Chiang said emerging technologies are making medical care more data-driven, consistent and accessible.
“Clinical practice and research are being rapidly reshaped by breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and data science,” said Chiang, director of the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health and elected member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Following the lecture, University of Maine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy and Giovanna Guidoboni, interim vice president for research and dean of the Maine College of Engineering and Computing, joined Chiang for a panel discussion moderated by Alon Harris, director of the Barry Family Center for Ophthalmic Artificial Intelligence and Human Health and professor at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.
Ferrini-Mundy said the rapid pace of innovation is reshaping not only research, but the future of health care.
“We’re living in a time when clinical practice and research across fields — particularly in the medical field — are being rapidly reshaped by breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and data science,” she said.
Harris, who is also faculty within the Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering at UMaine, reflected on the breadth of opportunity that exists across Maine and that UMaine is uniquely positioned to lead.
“I had been here before, but during this visit I discovered there is so much more,” he said. “This place is so motivating, from the biological and biomedical labs, to the full scale automated vehicles and 3D printed homes with smart health sensors. The level of people we met and the research interests were truly thought-provoking.”
Guidoboni said Chiang’s work reflects the data-driven, interdisciplinary approach central to research at UMaine. Over the past 16 years, Guidoboni and Harris have advanced mathematical modeling and data science, including studies on ocular blood flow, eye disease risk and noninvasive health monitoring, with the development of digital twins to help translate the advances of science into personalized medical care.
Their work reflects a broader shift toward using advanced analytics to better understand and treat complex health conditions.
“Dr. Chiang’s work exemplifies the power of combining clinical insight with data science to transform patient care,” Guidoboni said. “His leadership at the National Eye Institute is inspiring, especially as these innovations expand access and improve outcomes in rural communities like Maine.”
Chiang said advances in imaging have transformed ophthalmology from a largely descriptive field into one grounded in quantitative data, allowing clinicians to better measure and analyze disease.
He pointed to retinopathy of prematurity — a condition that can cause blindness in infants — as an example of how artificial intelligence can improve care. Studies have shown that even experts reviewing the same retinal images often disagree on whether disease is severe.
“That discrepancy is real,” Chiang said. “And this is where AI can help doctors make diagnoses that are more accurate and more consistent.”
He also highlighted emerging research suggesting that the eye may offer insights into broader health conditions. Because clinicians can directly observe blood vessels and nerves in the eye, researchers are exploring whether imaging can help predict diseases elsewhere in the body.
“If that’s really true and generalizable, then that’s remarkable,” he said, referring to studies linking eye imaging to neurological disease.
Chiang emphasized that progress in AI depends on access to large, high-quality datasets and collaboration across institutions.
“Garbage in, garbage out,” he said, cautioning that poor-quality data can limit the effectiveness of AI tools.
He also noted that technology could help reduce administrative burdens on physicians, who often spend significant time entering information into electronic health records.
“The technologies will help automate some of those things,” he said, “so doctors can spend more of their focus on the patient.”
Advances in technology are also reshaping how and where care is delivered, particularly in rural areas like Maine.
Chiang pointed to opportunities to expand care beyond traditional clinical settings through telehealth, remote monitoring and home-based tools, reducing the need for patients to travel long distances for care.
“Inpatient hospital stays are shorter than they ever used to be,” he said.
Those shifts, he added, raise broader questions about how physicians are trained and how healthcare systems adapt as medicine becomes increasingly data-driven.
As AI continues to evolve, Chiang said its impact will extend beyond diagnosis to reshape research, education and care delivery.
Contact: David Nordman, david.nordman@maine.edu
