By Jenna Jarrah
L.A. Pierce College has launched an AI-powered biomedical research program in partnership with National AI Campus, a training and education program in the Cedars-Sinai health system that provides students real-world research experiences. Students at Pierce work with medical data that is sourced from everyday patient care instead of from a controlled lab experiment, and students learn how to use AI tools to conduct in-depth analyses.
In the process, students enhance their resumes, build a professional network of peers, faculty, and medical professionals between L.A. Pierce College and Cedars-Sinai, making themselves competitive candidates for the evolving modern-day workforce.
This semester at Pierce, the research program has about 30 students from diverse majors including computer science, mathematics, biology, and psychology. Over an 8-week period, students will examine two side-by-side projects: breast cancer prognosis and genomic pattern discovery.
Khalil Robinson, a biotechnology and pre-veterinary medicine major at Pierce, is participating in the genomic pattern discovery project and it is his first time using AI tools for research.
He said, “As a student who’s been through the community college system, first at LACC (Los Angeles City College), then LA SW College (Los Angeles Southwest College), and then CS Polytechnical University at Humboldt, opportunities like this are so rare and far and few in between. To have this opportunity, at a school with a lower cost that has the resources to do it, has been great.”
Jesus Gonzalez, a student participating in the breast cancer prognosis was excited about the opportunity to apply what he knows from math and coding to breast cancer research. Gonzalez was previously at UCLA, where he had experience in AI medical research, and plans to apply to a Master’s program in biophysics.
“I didn’t expect it when I heard about it,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a great project and I was impressed with it, especially coming from a four-year undergraduate institution.”
Ally Muzic, who is a nursing student and is also participating in the breast cancer prognosis, had never engaged in research before.
“This project is starting a foundation of research for me, which is nice when going into the nursing and medical fields. I know it’ll provide a lot of learning opportunities, and I’ll get to know the research side of hospitals,” she said.
This new program advances equity in education and closes the gap between 2-year and 4-year colleges by bringing research opportunities that are traditionally only available to students at graduate and 4-year undergraduate institutions to students at community colleges.
L.A. Pierce College is the first community college nationwide to launch a research program of this caliber, positioning the institution as a model for what is possible for California’s 116 community colleges and over two million students, according to a statement released by the college.
National AI Campus is a collaborative program founded by Dr. Xiuzhen Huang at Arkansas State University to provide a first experience in AI for people from diverse backgrounds. It is a project-based learning initiative that aims to equip participants with skills for AI application in their careers or research, with the goal of building a diverse AI workforce.
The program is in two phases: In phase one, students put together a comprehensive research project, from start to finish. Each project, while individual, follows a similar format: students are given datasets, and they use AI tools to conduct analyses, and form conclusions about their findings. At the end of phase one, students will present their work at a seminar hosted by National AI Campus.
“This phase gives students a soup-to-nuts experience of putting together a research project, and gives them the practical experience of presenting a scientific work in front of a group of peers, faculty, and professionals,” said Dr. Dennis Hazelett, associate director of Cedars AI Campus and assistant professor of Computational Biomedicine at Cedars-Sinai, who played a central role in designing the pilot experience at the college.
For their work in the breast cancer prognosis project, students will use data provided from the American Cancer Society to write a computer program that will be used to predict patient survival outcomes.
The second project explores genomic pattern discovery, where students will learn to use artificial intelligence software to analyze variations in DNA sequences of real medical patients to find if there is any correlation between DNA changes and the patient’s disease. The program will be expanded to a 15-week research project in the spring.
“One of the beauties of these research projects is that they are interdisciplinary in nature,” said chemistry professor Winn Huynh, who is leading the genomic pattern discovery project as a coach. “Students from a variety of backgrounds–biology, chemistry, computer science–are coming together with their individual strengths with the aim of solving a common problem.”
For the duration of the program, students are supervised by faculty who are called “coaches.” Each project has two leading coaches, one from the computer science or engineering field, and the other from the life-sciences. They combine their expertise to guide and mentor students through their research, and in building their AI skills.
“By giving students this opportunity to participate in these types of programs, we allow them to see different aspects of what AI can do,” said electronics professor Farahnaz Nezhad, who leads the breast cancer prognosis project. “They can apply their knowledge … and see how they can make an impact to better themselves and our society by using the resources available to them.”
The National AI Campus network has expanded to more than 81 partner institutions in 31 states. “An AI campus is a network of institutions that are running their own versions of National AI Campus,” said Hazelette. “The focus is a project-based, team-oriented learning environment, where every institution adopts it to the needs of their student population.”
Pierce AI Campus comes at a time when the college is educating a large cohort of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) students. As an extension of their STEM offerings, L.A. Pierce College offers MESA (Math, Engineering, Statistic, Achievement), a program for students majoring in calculus-based STEM fields who intend to transfer to a four-year institution.
The program focuses on first-generation college students and financially disadvantaged students, with the goal of broadening diversity in STEM majors. In 2023, Pierce College completed a new campus building — the MESA Center — that offers student support services such as academic counseling from a dedicated MESA counselor, tutoring for STEM courses, transfer application preparation, and career development workshops.
“The AI project with Cedars aligns with other STEM-based initiatives we’ve been building at Pierce,” said L.A. Pierce College President Aracely Aguiar. Aguiar, a first-generation college graduate and immigrant herself, knows firsthand the power of equity in education. She said, “as educators and administrators, it’s our responsibility to remove barriers of access for our students and facilitate their process of navigating college.”
As a continuation of the current research effort, the college will introduce two new computer science courses in the spring semester. These courses are Foundations of Machine Learning for CIS (Computer Information Systems) and Data Science Fundamentals for CIS.
Robinson, the biotechnology and pre-veterinary medicine major, said, “Being at Pierce, opportunities are available not only for me, but for students of different backgrounds like first-generation college students, DACA students, and international students. The institution has … opportunities for students to explore their own curiosities and programs that are adjacent to their future career pathways.”