How Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Genetics May Create a New Therapy for Wilson Disease

Deep Genomics hopes to use the best artificial intelligence (AI) and genome biology data to develop new ways to treat genetic disorders like Wilson disease. AI can help speed the process of finding possible good solutions to treat disease. The computer does the work of quickly looking at the many genetic mutations found in WD to potentially fix the copper metabolism defect. Using this technique to work on genetic medicines that may potentially restore the defective ATP7B protein may possibly help 40% or more patients with Wilson's who have neurological and liver problems.
Brendan Frey, PhD, FRSC
FOUNDER & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Brendan Frey is a Toronto-based entrepreneur, engineer and scientist. He founded Deep Genomics in 2015, to address the need for an AI-driven approach to developing genetic medicines. He is responsible for the creation of the AI technology, processes and culture that enable the team to advance drug programs rapidly and with a high success rate, and for the discovery, development, partnering and commercialization of drug programs. During the genesis of the field of deep learning in the 1990’s, Brendan studied under Geoffrey Hinton and together they invented one of the first deep learning techniques, called the ‘wake-sleep algorithm’. In the early 2000’s, Brendan was a pioneer in developing AI systems that could accurately predict normal and pathological cell and genome biology, facilitating biomedical breakthroughs. His team contributed more leading-edge publications in this field than any other industry or academic lab. His work led to the discovery of new biology, the creation of tools that are widely used to this day, the founding of Deep Genomics, the first AI for identifying therapeutic targets and novel compounds, and the development of new therapies for patients with genetic disorders. Brendan’s contributions include the widely used ‘factor graph’ model used in AI and other fields, a code that helped to define the 802.11 Wi-Fi standard, the affinity propagation clustering algorithm, and deep learning predictors of splicing, protein-RNA/DNA interaction, and polyadenylation. Brendan has advised leading biotech and information technology companies, such as Microsoft Research, and he is a Professor of Engineering and Medicine at the University of Toronto, a Co-Founder of the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, and a Fellow of the AAAS, the IEEE, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, and the Royal Society of Canada.