Submitted by Catherine Atkins on Tue, 04/03/2025 - 11:48
The new European Interdisciplinary Society for AI in Cancer Research (ESAC), established by ECI Group Leader Dr Mireia Crispin, together with a pan-European steering committee*, has launched this month.
The European Interdisciplinary Society for AI in Cancer Research (ESAC), is a collaborative initiative dedicated to advancing the role of artificial intelligence in cancer research and patient care. It brings together individual clinicians, engineers and AI experts, researchers and radiology and pathology specialists to tackle the complex challenges of cancer, working towards a future where AI empowers more effective diagnoses, treatments, and improved outcomes and quality of life for cancer patients.
ESAC's bedrock is its three strategic objectives.
• Be a catalyst for collaboration. Truly effective AI integration hinges on the combined expertise of a range of research expertise: medical oncologists, imaging specialists (nuclear) radiologists, pathologists, physicists, bioinformaticians and AI engineers. By promoting joint research initiatives and driving the development and validation of advanced models, ESAC plans to support the use of AI solutions to bridge still-existing critical gaps in the classic cancer research continuum between benchtop discoveries and bedside applications.
• Build a multidisciplinary network. ESAC aims to bridge strategic alliances with key European initiatives and scientific organisations to amplify AI's impact in research, diagnostics and oncology. ESAC actively seeks collaborations with ongoing EU projects, academic institutions, and industry leaders to fuel innovation and avoid duplication of effort, to support crucial strategic alignments for maximizing AI's impact.
• Comprehensive educational programs. Recognising the need for specific expertise, ESAC provides training opportunities, from webinars and interdisciplinary conferences ESAC will host a dedicated platform for its members, offering educational courses, access to webinars and workshops’ outputs, along with continuous training resources.
The Society’s overarching objective is to create an interconnected community with a culture of continuous learning and grassroots collaboration, working towards a future where AI brings on more precise, personalised care for European patients. "We are experienced in using AI technologies for cancer research, but also for clinical application" adds Prof. Jakob Nikolas Kather (Technical University of Dresden in Germany), President-Elect of the society. "Our vision is to improve cancer research with AI, and to identify new ways to diagnose and treat cancer better and faster. At the same time, we are focused on applying this technology in clinical routine and integrating it into clinical workflows. This will ultimately transform how we diagnose, treat and manage cancer and also how we educate about the disease – leading to our strong focus on education and training as well."
ESAC invites researchers, AI experts, engineers, clinicians, institutions, and industry leaders to join its mission of advancing AI in cancer research. Membership will be opened in the coming weeks (www.esac-network.eu - under construction), but expressions of interest are welcome.
*The first ESAC Steering Committee, established from February 2025 for a 3-year mandate, is composed of Arsela Prelaj (INT Milan, Italy, president), Jakob Nikolas Kather (TU Dresden, Germany, president-elect), Mireia Crispin Ortuzar (University of Cambridge, UK, general secretary), Helena Linardou (Athens Metropolitan Hospital, Greece, treasurer), Raquel Pérez-Lopez (Vall d’Hebron, Spain), Claes Lundström (Linköping University, Sweden), Daniel Truhn (Aachen University Hospital, Germany), Loic Verlingue (Centre Léon Bérard, France), Vanja Miskovic (Politecnico di Milano, Italy), Julien Calderaro (CHU Henri Mondor, France) and Mihaela Aldea (Gustave Roussy, France). Additional founding member - Alessandra Pedrocchi (Politecnico di Milano). Operational support: Giovanni Scoazec (program manager), Narmin Ghaffari Laleh (TU Dresden, scientific officer).