Mexico City, April 7, 2025. The Dr. Antonieta Martínez-Velascoresearch professor at the Faculty of Engineering of the Universidad Panamericanacarried out an outstanding research stay at the Bioinformatics and Biomedical Signals Bioinformatics and Biomedical Signals Laboratory of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), where she (UPC), where he collaborated in an international project on rare diseases, which integrates artificial intelligence, bioinformatics and ontology of the human phenotype..
International collaboration with impact on health
The opportunity to collaborate in this project arose through a network of researchers linked to the Universidad Panamericana, specifically with the Schools of Engineering and Business Studies.
"It was a joint effort that reflects the commitment of the Universidad Panamericana and Carolina Foundation to interdisciplinary research and international linkages," said Dr. Martínez-Velasco.Dr. Martínez-Velasco emphasizes.
The project, led by Dr. Alexandre Perera Lluna of the Institut de Recerca i Innovació en Salut (IRIS), has as its main objective the to understand the mechanisms of rare diseases through the human phenotype ontology (HPO)..
This tool allows an accurate representation of these diseases, facilitating the design of more effective clinical trials and personalized treatment strategies. more effective clinical trials and personalized treatment strategies..
Artificial intelligence in the service of medicine
One of the most relevant aspects of the project is the application of artificial intelligence and data science techniques to analyze large volumes of clinical information. application of artificial intelligence and data science techniques to analyze large volumes of clinical data..
"The hypothesis is that traditional clinical data analysis is insufficient to address the particularities of rare diseases and large databases. With tools such as deep-learning, we seek to stratify diseases and improve their diagnosis"explains the researcher.
Dr. Martínez-Velasco emphasized that this approach not only benefits patients with rare diseases, but also those with more common conditions such as type 2 diabetes, COPD or kidney disease.
"The project can optimize clinical trials to identify which groups respond better to certain treatments, resulting in more effective protocols," he adds.he adds.
Overcoming challenges in rare disease research
Among the biggest challenges of the project, the academic mentioned the scarcity of data due to the low prevalence of rare diseases. However, she stressed that the results could revolutionize early diagnosis and the quality of life of patients. "The ultimate goal is for these advances to reach clinical practice and make a tangible difference"., he notes.
Institutional commitment to biomedical innovation
Dr. Martínez-Velasco acknowledges the integral support of Universidad Panamericana in her participation in this international project. "From the call for proposals to the follow-up, Universidad Panamericana has been a catalyst for innovation and development of its researchers,Universidad Panamericana has been a catalyst for innovation and the development of its researchers."she says.
Finally, the researcher calls on the university community to foster multidisciplinary collaboration in artificial intelligence applied to biomedicine. "Together we can take advantage of these tools to improve people's health and well-being. Research in this field is not only necessary, but transformative".he concludes.
With this international collaboration, Dr. Antonieta Martínez-Velasco reinforces Universidad Panamericana 's commitment to knowledge generation and cutting-edge research, positioning our university as a reference in biomedical innovation.
Learn more about the project at: https://b2slab.upc.edu/team/visiting.html
