Columbia Launches the Center for Advanced Diagnostic Research (CADRe)

The Department of Radiology and the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) launched the Center for Advanced Diagnostic Research (CADRe) on June 3rd at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.  

Led by Stella Kang, MD, MS, CADRe is designed to improve patient outcomes by advancing new diagnostic tools to the clinic. Kang outlined her vision for the center, which will bring together expertise across Columbia to accelerate both the innovation of new diagnostic tools and the translation of emerging ones, through rigorous evaluation and clinical trials.

"The idea is for us to innovate and bring new diagnostic technologies to patient care, to improve the outcomes for the patients who come to us seeking not just to treat their disease, but to identify it earlier, understand it better, and then to create more individualized opportunity," she said.

Wednesday’s event featured a day of presentations, research posters, and networking opportunities that showcased Columbia’s expertise in artificial intelligence, molecular imaging and therapeutics, and clinical trials and emphasized the shared goal of leveraging the vast amounts of patient data that medical centers now have at their disposal to better predict, diagnose, and monitor the treatment of disease.

Opening remarks by Katrina Armstrong, MD, and Ajay Gupta, MD, MS, focused on Columbia’s leadership and expertise in diagnostics at a critical time when artificial intelligence and advancements in molecular imaging are transforming medicine.

Gupta also spoke about recent advances in technology that have led to better diagnostic tools, more data collection, and new ways to synthesize data with artificial intelligence. “Technologies are advancing at a breakneck speed," he said. "We have to be able to assess how and which technologies actually improve the lives of our patients, and which technologies provide societal benefit."

Despina Kontos, PhD, director of the Center for Innovation in Imaging Biomarkers and Integrated Diagnostics (CIMBID), led a panel discussion which focused on the challenges around the meaningful translation of AI tools to the clinic in a large hospital system.

A lunch reception with a poster session followed the morning of presentations. 

More About the Presenters

• Stella Kang, MD, MS, Professor of Radiology; Vice Chair of Clinical Research for the Department of Radiology; Director, Center for Advanced Diagnostic Research (CADRe)
• Sachin Jambawalikar, PhD, Assistant Professor of Radiology (Physics); Associate Chair of Research Informatics/IT for the Department of Radiology; Associate Director, Imaging Science and Biomarkers, CADRe
• Bethany Percha, MPH, PhD, Chief Data and Analytics Officer, NewYork-Presbyterian
• Catherine Estrampes, Chief Commercial and Growth Officer, GE HealthCare
• Parminder Bhatia, Chief AI Officer, GE Healthcare
• Andrew Lassman, MD, John Harris Professor of Neurology at the Columbia University Medical Center; Vice Dean of Clinical Trials at VP&S
• Moustafa Gabr, PhD, Incoming Director of Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics Research for the Department of Radiology
• Benjamin Herzberg, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at CUMC; Associate Director, Experimental Therapeutics/Phase I Program, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC)
• Sandra Ryeom, PhD, Associate Professor of Surgical Sciences, Division of Surgical Sciences (in Surgery); Associate Dean for Postdoctoral Affairs and New Master’s Degree Programs, VP&S
• Despina Kontos, PhD – Herbert and Florence Irving Professor of Radiological Sciences (in Radiology and the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center) and Professor of Biomedical Informatics and Biomedical Engineering; Vice Chair of AI and Data Science Research, Department of Radiology; Director, CIMBID; Chief Research Information Officer (CRIO), Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC); Director of Biomarker Imaging, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
• Muredach Reilly, MD, Florence and Herbert Irving Endowed Professor of Medicine; Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons; Director, Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research
• Michael Miller, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pathology; Director of Digital Pathology, Department of Pathology