Ⅰ. Overview

Established in June 2021, the Center for Artificial IntelligenceBig Data at the First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China (the Center) consists of seven full-time researchers, including six with doctoral degreesone currently pursuing a doctorate. The Center was founded to establish artificial intelligence as a core enginedeeply promote the integration of biotechnology, information technology,AI in clinical medical practice. “Multi-omics analysis and multimodal integration” represent the frontier of medical sciencetechnology developmentserve as crucial pathways to achieving precision medicine. Artificial intelligence provides key technical support for implementing precision medicinesecuring leadership in future high-stakes medical research. By leveraging AI to drive the development of precision medicinestrengthening research frameworks through interdisciplinary collaboration between medicineengineering, we can efficiently process large-scale medical data using AI technologies. This is of great significance for enhancing Hunan provinces capacity in the preventioncontrol of major diseasesimproving public health outcomes. Furthermore, these efforts will position the hospital at the forefront of data-driven medical research paradigms, enable us to take the initiative in the smart healthcare industry,inject core momentumthe “Double First-Class” initiative in both medicalcomputer-related disciplines.

Since its establishment, the Center has published 31 SCI papers, including 15 high-impact studies with an impact factor greater than 10. It has secured two Hunan Provincial Innovation Talent Programs, three National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) General Programs, two National Natural Science Foundation Youth Programs, four Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation projects,one Scientific Research Project of the Hunan Provincial Department of Education. The Center has also guided students to win first prize in the 2nd Hunan Provincial Graduate Computer Innovation Competitionfirst prize in the 3rd Hunan Medical Skills InnovationEntrepreneurship Competition.

Ⅱ. Team

Li Chunquan, PhD, is Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, Director of the Center for Artificial IntelligenceBig Data at the First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China,Vice Dean of the School of Computer Science, University of South China. He is recognized as a Leading Talent in ScientificTechnological Innovation of Hunan Provincean Outstanding Young Talent of Heilongjiang Province. He serves as the Principal Investigator of the NHC Key Laboratory of Birth Defects ResearchPrevention,Deputy Director of the Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Multi-omicsArtificial Intelligence in Heart Diseases. His main research focuses on the developmentanalysis of biomolecular network models for major diseases such as cardiovascular conditionscancer, as well as the analysis of medical big datathe development of artificial intelligence algorithms. He has led 25 research projects, including those funded by the NSFC, the Hunan Provincial Leading Talents in ScientificTechnological Innovation Program, the Provincial Outstanding Youth Foundation, the Provincial Natural Science Foundation,the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education. His achievements include receiving first prize for Natural ScienceTechnology Academic Achievements in Heilongjiang Provincethird prize for ScienceTechnology Awards of the Chinese Medical Association. He also holds six authorized invention patentssoftware copyrights. He currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Major Disease Omics Informatics Committee of the China Society of Bioinformatics (preparatory), Member of the Bioinformatics Committee of the China Computer Federation, Standing Committee MemberSecretary-General of the Tumor SequencingBig Data Analysis Committee of the Tumor Marker Professional Committee of the China Anti-Cancer Association,Vice Chairman of the Hunan Society of Biomedical Engineering. To date, he has published over 100 SCI research papers, including more than 80 as firstcorresponding author, among which 35 have an impact factor greater than 10. His work has been published in high-profile journals such as “Nature Communications,” “Nucleic Acids Research,” “Gastroenterology,” and “Briefings in Bioinformatics.” He has independently developed several internationally influential data resource platforms for transcriptional regulation omicsnetwork analysis, including SEdb, SEanalysis,ATACdb. These platforms are widely used by research institutionsresearchers in nearly 100 countries, including the United Statesthe United Kingdom,have accumulated over 100,000 user visits.

Shang Desi, Professor, Master and Doctoral Supervisor, with a Ph.D. in Biophysics (Bioinformatics)postdoctoral training in Pharmacy (Pharmacogenomics). He is a core member of the Center for Artificial IntelligenceBig Data at the First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China,an adjunct ProfessorMaster Supervisor at the School of Computer Science, University of South China. In 2010, he obtained a Master’s degree in Basic Medicine (through a seven-year combined bachelor’smaster’s program),in 2013, he received a Ph.D. in Biophysics. His main research area focuses on using network models to investigate the mechanisms of complex diseasesstudy resistance in immunotherapy. He has published over 40 SCI papers. He has led several projects including the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Youth ProgramGeneral Program, the Heilongjiang Provincial Postdoctoral Startup Fund,the Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation General Program. Additionally, he has participated as an academic key member in three NSFC projectsone Major Research Plan. He serves as a member of the Bioinformatics Committee of the China Computer Federation, a member of the Tumor SequencingBig Data Analysis Committee of the Tumor Marker Professional Committee of the China Anti-Cancer Association,a council member of the Hunan Society of Biomedical Engineering. He is also a reviewereditorial board member for several journals, including Nucleic Acids ResearchBriefings in Bioinformatics.

Wang Qiuyu, PhD, Associate Professor, Master Supervisor, Postdoctoral Co-Supervisor,High-Level Talent of Hengyang City. He is a core member of the Center for Artificial IntelligenceBig Data at the First Affiliated Hospital of University of South Chinaan adjunct Associate Professor at the School of Computer Science, University of South China. His main research area focuses on the developmentanalysis of metabolic network models for complex diseases, as well as medical big data analysis. He has published 39 SCI papers in high-impact journals such as Nucleic Acids Research and Briefings in Bioinformatics. He has led multiple research projects, including the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Youth Program, NSFC General Program, Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation General Program, Open Project of the Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Myocardial Ischemia,the University of South China’s 4310 Clinical Research Project. He holds two authorized invention patentstwo software copyrights. He serves as a Standing Council Member of the Hunan Society of Biomedical Engineeringa Council Member of the Hunan Society of Bioinformatics. He has been honored with the title of “Excellent Advisor” at the 3rd Hunan Medical Skills InnovationEntrepreneurship Competition.

Song Chao, PhD, Associate Professor, Master Supervisor,Postdoctoral Co-Supervisor. He is recognized as a “Huxiang (Hunan) Young Talent” and a High-Level Talent of Hengyang City. As a core member of the Center for Artificial IntelligenceBig Data at the First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China. He also serves as a Standing Council Member of the Hunan Society of Biomedical Engineeringa Youth Committee Member of the Cardiovascular Pharmacology Committee of the Chinese Pharmacological Society. His long-term research area focuses on the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms of complex diseases such as cardiovascular disorderscancer. He has led one national-level project, three provincial/ministerial-level projects,one department-level project. He has obtained two authorized national patentsone software copyright. Additionally, he has published nearly 20 academic papers in internationally renowned journals including Nature Communications, Nucleic Acids Research, and Molecular Therapy.

Liu Jiaqi, PhD, Lecturer. He received his Ph.D. in Control ScienceEngineering from Harbin Institute of Technology,participated in a joint Ph.D. program in Electrical EngineeringAutomation at Aalto University, Finland. He was a visiting scholar (2020) in NeuroscienceBiomedical Engineering. Currently, he is a core member of the Center for Artificial IntelligenceBig Data at the First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China. His main research area focuses on AI methods for multimodal medical data fusion, as well as the application of edge computinggenerative models in healthcare scenarios. He has extensive experience in guiding students in participating in prestigious disciplinary competitions such as the National Undergraduate Electronic Design Contest, the "Challenge Cup" Entrepreneurship Competition,the Hunan Medical Skills InnovationEntrepreneurship Competition, where his students have won multiple nationalprovincial awards. He was also awarded the Third Prize in the Hunan Provincial Health Artificial Intelligence Innovation Application Competition.

Qian Fengcui, PhD Candidate, Assistant Researcher,core member of the Center for Artificial IntelligenceBig Data at the First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China. Her research area focuses on the constructionanalysis of transcriptional regulatory network models for complex diseases. She serves as a Council Member of the Hunan Society of Biomedical Engineering. She has published 28 SCI-indexed papers in journals such as Nucleic Acids Research, Briefings in Bioinformatics, and Bioinformatics, including nine as first authorco-first author. She has led projects including the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Youth Program (Category C)research grants from the Hunan Provincial Department of Education. 

Li Yanyu, PhD, is an in-service postdoctoral fellowa core member of the Center for Artificial IntelligenceBig Data at the First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China. Her research area focuses on the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms of immune-relatedcomplex diseases. She serves as a Council Member of the Hunan Society of Biomedical Engineering. She has published a total of 23 SCI papers in renowned journals such as Gastroenterology, Nucleic Acids Research, Briefings in Bioinformatics, and Circulation Research, including nine as first authorco-first author. She has participated in four research projects, including those funded by the NSFC and the Provincial Natural Science Foundation.

Ⅲ. Research Directions

1. DevelopmentAnalysis of Multi-Omics Data Resource Platforms

(1) Development of Transcriptomics DatabasesIn-depth Analysis Technologies

(2) IntegrationMining of Single-Cell Multi-Omics Heterogeneous Data

(3) Development of Epigenomics Analysis Technologies for Major Diseases

2. Multimodal ImagingArtificial Intelligence

(1) Multi-scale causal inference in precision medicine

(2) Statistical inference combining datamechanistic models

(3) Development of AI-assisted diagnosistreatment technologies for multimodal medical imaging

3. Precision Medicine for Major Diseases

(1) Multi-omics-based research on the pathogenesis of diseases

(2) DevelopmentEstablishment of Precision Prediction TechnologiesSystems for Immunotherapy in Malignant Tumors

(3) Key Technologies for Early IdentificationPrecision DiagnosisTreatment of Birth Defects

IV. Approved Projects