The T-CAIREM Network ambassador at Montreal's McGill University is Prof. Sylvain Baillet, a professor of neurology and neurosurgery, biomedical engineering, and computer science, and the Tier-1 Canada Research Chair of Neural Dynamics of Brain Systems. Prof Baillet is also the Associate Dean (Research) of McGill’s Faculty of Medicine & Health and a founding member of CIHR’s Standing Committee on Science. We caught up with him to learn more about McGill's unique role in Canada's AI in medicine ecosystem.
What inspired McGill University to join the T-CAIREM Network?
McGill is a biomedical research powerhouse with a strong international outlook and reputation. In the T-CAIREM Network, we saw an opportunity for our researchers and trainees to broadcast their expertise, data sources, and methods across a pan-Canadian network of peer institutions with similar or complementary preoccupations.
You've accomplished a lot in your career. What sparked your research interest in neurology and neurosurgery?
I originally trained in Physics and Electrical Engineering and came to neuroscience through the development of methods for brain imaging. I have learned so much by just interacting with true experts in cognitive and clinical neuroscience. What sparked my research interest are the multidisciplinary facets of neuroscience research. I believe such diversity is pretty unique in science. The other big motivating factor for me are the challenges encountered by patients and the hard questions brought up by their caregivers.
What excites you the most about the possibilities of AI in healthcare?
I am not sure this is entirely about excitement. It's more about how to best channel the potential of new emerging tools driven by data rather than by explicit rules issued by experts. These tools challenge the scientific praxis and related translational aspects at many levels: from bioethics to regulatory issues, including the question of liability, which is central to decision-making in medicine. A network like T-CAIREM brings together the expertise required to address these difficult questions and distinguish between the hype and the genuine transformative aspects of the technology.
What are some AI in medicine projects taking place at McGill that you’re really excited about right now?
McGill has a strong backbone of AI researchers based on our campuses and at Mila. And we have a remarkable network of researchers and clinician-scientists in our teaching hospitals and affiliated institutes. Many are pioneers at the frontlines of data, machine learning and wearables, transforming biomedicine and healthcare. Over the past 3-4 years, we have strengthened the connections between all these hot spots, notably through a new cross-cutting strategic initiative of our Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences entitled "Biomedical & Health Sciences in the Age of Digital Data." This cohesive approach has already borne fruits in terms of fundraising and the recognition of some of our champions via dual AI/Health Chair awards from the Quebec Funds for Health Research. I am excited about the next upcoming stages of growth in these areas across the McGill community.
What’s the number one piece of advice you’d give to students interested in AI health research?
My number one recommendation for all STEM students interested in AI is to nurture their humanities and critical thinking skills. These abilities will help them make a true difference among their peers, because present and future generative AI technology will challenge our sense of agency and responsibility as human beings. It also poses unprecedented ethical and existential questions that current computer science curricula and the coding industry needs to embrace and reflect upon. It’s a matter of good intelligence and citizenship.
