Anant Madabhushi was ready for the next step in his career as a researcher and educator. He was already widely recognized as a pioneer in the emerging field of machine learning--specifically for medical imaging and computer-assisted diagnoses. He had authored more than 450 peer-reviewed publications and held over one hundred patents in AI, radiomics, computational pathology, and computer vision. He had even seen his name printed in major consumer publications such as Business Insider and Scientific American that spread the word about how algorithms he's created have greatly improved the accuracy of diagnosing cancer. But Madabhushi, a professor of biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University, wanted more. He wanted to break out of the lab and share his specialized knowledge of AI with doctors and clinicians who could put it to use in health care systems and hospitals.

Madabhushi, along with 11 additional winners, will be recognized at the second annual cleveland.com/The HomeGrown Heroes celebrates the unsung heroes of our community who are working tirelessly on their start-ups, businesses, innovations and social organizations to fuel the economic development of our region. See Madabhushi's story in the video feature by John Pana at the top of this post. A Case Western Reserve University biomedical engineering researcher, Madabhushi is making award-winning gains in how artificial intelligence can contribute significantly not only to diagnosing cancer, but also giving physicians personalized guidance on the best treatment options for each patient. His work on how computers can more accurately predict which lung cancer patients would benefit from chemotherapy was named one of the Top 10 medical breakthroughs of 2018 by Prevention.