– Udacity, the global online learning platform that trains the world’s workforce for the careers of the future, today launched its AI for the Healthcare Nanodegree program. The project-based courses are taught by industry-leading AI and healthcare experts and designed to provide learners with the practical experience and resources needed to work and advance in the healthcare field. Today’s announcement is part of Udacity’s inaugural AI for Healthcare in the Time of COVID -19 Virtual Conference, taking place May 12 and 13 in front of an online audience of over 10,000 healthcare professionals and decision-makers.
“Artificial intelligence has the potential to bring about monumental improvements in any industry where data is collected, but few fields have as significant an impact on our quality of life as does healthcare,” said Gabriel Dalporto, CEO, Udacity. “By leveraging the power of AI, providers can deploy precise, efficient, and impactful interventions at exactly the right moment in a patient’s care. Through our AI for Healthcare Nanodegree program, we’re equipping data scientists and other AI-minded professionals to use their skills to enable faster and more accurate diagnoses of medical conditions and to build the treatments of the future.”
Continuing Udacity’s tradition of developing its curriculum alongside active practitioners and experts in their field, the AI for Healthcare Nanodegree program has tapped five leading names in AI and healthcare as course instructors: Nikhil Bikhchandani (Data Scientist, Verily Life Sciences), Mazen Zawaideh (Radiology Consultant, Microsoft Research), Ivan Tarapov (Medical Imaging AI, Microsoft Research), Emily Lindemer (Data Science & Analytics, Wellframe), and Michael D’Andrea (Principal Data Scientist, Genentech).
Learners who enroll in the program will develop the skills needed to create algorithms that will enable healthcare professionals to deploy more effective interventions in order to optimize clinical decision-making at scale. Curriculum included in the Nanodegree program includes lessons on the applications of artificial intelligence in electronic health records, 2D and 3D medical imaging, and wearable devices. Udacity’s AI for Healthcare Nanodegree program also features hands-on learning with projects tailored to real-world scenarios that complement instructor-led sessions, including the development of algorithms to detect pneumonia from chest x-rays and quantification of hippocampus volume to determine Alzheimer’s progression.
The curriculum will be previewed at Udacity’s AI for Healthcare in the Time of COVID-19 Virtual Conference, which will touch on several of the topics that are addressed in the Nanodegree program, and features panel discussions with industry leaders on today’s most pressing topics including disease prediction, data bias, and how AI is addressing COVID-19. Dr. Eric Topol, Founder, and Director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, and Matt Versaggi, Senior Director of Artificial Intelligence at Optum Health, are presenting as keynote speakers.