In Collaboration with the National Institutes of Health, IBM Research Dives Deep into Biomarkers of Schizophrenia

Sinai School of Medicine, Stanford University and the Northern California Institute for Research and Education, IBM Research is undertaking a new research initiative funded by the National Institutes of Health. As part of a broader $99 million, 5-year research initiative spanning multiple public and private organizations and research institutions, this work will tap into AI and big data to help better identify individuals at high-risk of developing schizophrenia, a serious mental illness affecting how a person thinks, feels and behaves. Schizophrenia is often characterized by alterations to a person's thoughts, feelings and behaviors, which can include a loss of contact with reality known as psychosis. A better understanding of how this disease could be detected prior to psychosis could help to postpone or even prevent the transition to psychosis, as well as possibly improve outcomes. The project is a component of the Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP), a collaboration between the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms and nonprofit organizations.