Dear Community, We are thrilled to present you with the next episode of our series โINSIDE DCBโ โ this time, with an...
DCB Newsletter #1/25: INSIDE DCB โ Interview with Lisa Koch
DCB Newsletter #1/25: INSIDE DCB โ Interview with Lisa Koch
Dear Community,
We are thrilled to present you with the next episode of our series โINSIDE DCBโ โ this time, with an interview with Lisa Koch. Enjoy the read!
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Since April 2024, Lisa Koch has been an assistant professor at the University and University Hospital of Bern as well as the DCB (Diabetes Center Berne). Using artificial intelligence, she and her team are dedicated to developing demonstrably safe, reliable, and effective data-driven tools to shape the future of diabetes care.
Prof Dr Koch, what is your research about?
My research is concerned with the development of artificial intelligence (AI) methods for medicine. I am particularly interested in how artificial intelligence can be used safely and reliably. For example: How can we explain in an understandable way how an AI makes important decisions? How do we ensure that AI performs just as well for real people as it does in studies? And could it be that the AI is penalising certain groups? If so, how can we recognise and improve this?
What motivates you to work in the field of diabetes?
Diabetes research offers enormous potential to improve the lives of millions of people. The use of artificial intelligence in diabetes technology makes it possible to develop personalised therapies that respond to individual needs. The field of diabetes is also of scientific interest to me because there are many different applications for artificial intelligence. These range, for example, from blood glucose management using wearable devices (wearables) to the detection of secondary diseases of diabetes, such as the early detection of diabetic retinopathy based on images of the back of the eye. There are still many unanswered questions in each of these areas.
What is your greatest challenge as a professor?
My daily life as a professor is very diverse. Even the actual research itself involves a variety of different tasks: I continuously develop my short-, medium- and long-term research vision, supervise students, read and write a lot, and exchange ideas in my international environment. This also includes responsibilities in academic self-governance and teaching. In addition, there are countless other exciting tasks that are important to me: I help organise scientific conferences and am regularly invited as an expert to review the work of other professionals (peer review), participate in panel discussions, or give lectures. I would say my biggest challenge is prioritising and managing my limited time. Fortunately, since I have a great deal of independence in organising my time, the responsibility lies entirely with me: I need to learn to occasionally say no to exciting opportunities.
What goals do you aim to achieve with your team and your lab, the MLM-Lab (Machine Learning in Medicine Lab)?
I have several goals that I would like to pursue with my team. On one hand, my core research objectives are close to my heart: I aim to make artificial intelligence effective and safe for use in medicine. Ultimately, I want to contribute to improved patient care, both generally and specifically for people with diabetes. Itโs important to me that, within this domain, my team and I work on projects that we find personally exciting and that we are methodologically passionate about. Apart from the research content itself, I aim to promote skills in my team and thus offer my team members good prospects for a successful career in research or the private sector. For example, we invest a lot of time in scientific communication. It is also very important to me to create a healthy and positive environment in which all team members can also prioritise their private lives.
What projects are you currently researching and how can they make life easier for people with diabetes?
We are working on various methods to automatically analyse medical images and data from wearable devices such as blood glucose meters and fitness trackers. For example, we use machine learning to tailor physiological glucose models to individuals, and investigate how we can recognise and correct inaccuracies in AI models. These technologies are designed to support people with diabetes by enabling safe, personalised treatment.
How do you work with the DCB?ย
Our offices are located at the DCB, which leads to regular dialogue. In particular, my team benefits from the interdisciplinary research environment that the DCB and the University of Bern have created with their endowed professorships. The DCB also offers us active access to the network in the field of diabetes technology.
Where do you hope your field of research will be in five to ten years’ time? What is your vision?ย
Artificial intelligence will have a fundamental impact on many areas of our society in the coming years. My vision is that this change in medicine will be positive. With my research, I want to provide trustworthy technologies to facilitate this.
About Lisa Koch
Lisa Koch is an assistant professor and research group leader at the University and Inselspital Bern. Together with her team at the DCB, she researches and develops trustworthy diabetes care supported by artificial intelligence that brings real benefits to patients and the medical profession.
After completing a bachelorโs degree in electrical engineering (BSc) and a masterโs degree in biomedical engineering (MSc) at ETH Zurich, Lisa Koch completed a PhD in machine learning for medical image analysis at Imperial College London. After a postdoctoral position at ETH Zurich, she joined the Swiss wearable medical device start-up Ava, where she eventually became head of the data science team. In this position, she recognised the need for demonstrably secure machine learning in healthcare. In 2021, she returned to academic research to conduct research on this topic as a group leader for machine learning in medical diagnostics in the Berens Lab at the Hertie Institute for AI in Brain Research at the University of Tรผbingen, Germany.
Thanks so much for reading and weโll provide you with the next episode of this series soon!
This edition was authored by Sunjoy Mathieu , Communication Manager at DCB, and originally published on https://www.d-journal.ch in German and French.
This post was previously published in Linkedin. Click here to see the original publication.
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