Houston researchers create AI model to tap into how brain activity relates to illness

brainiac

BrainLM is now well-trained enough to use to fine-tune a specific task and to ask questions in other studies. Photo via Getty Images

Houston researchers are part of a team that has created an AI model intended to understand how brain activity relates to behavior and illness.

Scientists from Baylor College of Medicine worked with peers from Yale University, University of Southern California and Idaho State University to make Brain Language Model, or BrainLM. Their research was published as a conference paper at ICLR 2024, a meeting of some of deep learning’s greatest minds.

“For a long time we’ve known that brain activity is related to a person’s behavior and to a lot of illnesses like seizures or Parkinson’s,” Dr. Chadi Abdallah, associate professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor and co-corresponding author of the paper, says in a press release. “Functional brain imaging or functional MRIs allow us to look at brain activity throughout the brain, but we previously couldn’t fully capture the dynamic of these activities in time and space using traditional data analytical tools.

"More recently, people started using machine learning to capture the brain complexity and how it relates it to specific illnesses, but that turned out to require enrolling and fully examining thousands of patients with a particular behavior or illness, a very expensive process,” Abdallah continues.

Using 80,000 brain scans, the team was able to train their model to figure out how brain activities related to one another. Over time, this created the BrainLM brain activity foundational model. BrainLM is now well-trained enough to use to fine-tune a specific task and to ask questions in other studies.

Abdallah said that using BrainLM will cut costs significantly for scientists developing treatments for brain disorders. In clinical trials, it can cost “hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said, to enroll numerous patients and treat them over a significant time period. By using BrainLM, researchers can enroll half the subjects because the AI can select the individuals most likely to benefit.

The team found that BrainLM performed successfully in many different samples. That included predicting depression, anxiety and PTSD severity better than other machine learning tools that do not use generative AI.

“We found that BrainLM is performing very well. It is predicting brain activity in a new sample that was hidden from it during the training as well as doing well with data from new scanners and new population,” Abdallah says. “These impressive results were achieved with scans from 40,000 subjects. We are now working on considerably increasing the training dataset. The stronger the model we can build, the more we can do to assist with patient care, such as developing new treatment for mental illnesses or guiding neurosurgery for seizures or DBS.”

For those suffering from neurological and mental health disorders, BrainLM could be a key to unlocking treatments that will make a life-changing difference.

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2024 Houston Innovation Awards winners named at annual event

drum roll, please...

Houston innovators — the moment you've been waiting for. The winners of the 2024 Houston Innovation Awards were named at the annual event.

The Houston Innovation Awards honored over 50 finalists across categories, naming the 12 winners and honoring the two Trailblazer Legacy Awards at the event.

The 2024 judges — who represent various industries and verticals in Houston — scored over 200 submissions. The event, hosted at TMC Helix Park on November 14 and emceed by Joey Sanchez, 2023 Ecosystem Builder award recipient and founder of Cup of Joey, revealed the winners.

The event's sponsors included Texas Medical Center, Milam & Greene, EIGHT Beer, Houston Community College, Microsoft, Halliburton Labs, Mercury, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, Rice Innovation & Ion District, Growth Pods, Hunton Andrews Kurth and more.

Without further adieu, here the winners from the 2024 Houston Innovation Awards.

Corrolytics is a technology startup founded to solve microbiologically influenced corrosion problems for industrial assets. Co-founder and CEO Anwar Sadek says he's collected over $1 million in dilutive and non-dilutive funding from grants and other opportunities thanks to help from mentors.

"As a founder, I am always eager to assist and support fellow entrepreneurs, especially those navigating the unique challenges that come with being a BIPOC founder," he says. "With the guidance of mentors, I learned to master the complexities of the application process for grants and other funding opportunities. In turn, I actively share my experiences with other founders, helping them navigate similar paths."

Koda Health is a provider of a tech-enabled care coordination service for improving serious illness care planning. Founder and CEO Tatiana Fofanova says that her company's last fundraise has been one of her biggest career challenges to date.

"In a venture downturn that only cared about artificial intelligence, I closed my second round six days before I gave birth to my son," she says. "Fundraising in enterprise health tech is a tough task on a good year. Fundraising in an AI-obsessed downturn while seven months pregnant was the greatest physical and professional challenge of my life. I was only able to do such a Herculean feat through the support of my husband, my amazing professional network, and the Koda team."

March Biosciences, a clinical-stage cell therapy company with a mission to transform patient care in the most challenging hematological malignancies, was co-founded by CEO Sarah Hein.

"Our therapy has resulted in multiple long-term remissions in patients with advanced T cell lymphoma, which is unheard," Hein says on what sets March apart. "Our drug is simpler, cheaper, and more efficient to produce than any of our competition's approaches. And our company operates with a lean, fit-for-purpose structure that allows us to move faster and more efficiently than industry norms."

Founded by CEO Cindy Taff, Sage Geosystems is an energy company focused on developing and deploying advanced geothermal technologies to provide reliable power and sustainable energy storage solutions regardless of geography.

"Sage Geosystems sets itself apart from competitors with its Geopressured Geothermal Systems, which can be deployed almost anywhere, unlike traditional geothermal technologies that require specific geographic conditions," Taff says. "This flexibility enables Sage to provide a reliable and virtually limitless power supply, making it ideal for energy-intensive applications like data centers."

Venus Aerospace, a deep tech company founded by husband and wife team Sassie and Andrew Duggleby, is developing reusable hypersonic technology for aviation, defense, and beyond. The team says its company culture is what drives its success.

"Traditionally, the aerospace industry tends to burn out its employees with no room for work- life balance. One of our core visions is being 'home for dinner,'" the company reported. "We want to fly you to one side of the world and still have you home for dinner. And if you work for Venus, we expect you to not only get your job done, but prioritize your family and make it home in time for dinner."

Cognitive Space, an automated satellite operations provider that enables constellations to scale, was founded by CEO Guy de Carufel, who worked at NASA for eight years before starting this company.

Cognitive Space, working in defense sector, provides "AI for automating the space infrastructure, from effective ordering across multiple data providers, to optimized scheduling of satellite operations from sensor and link management," de Carufel says. "Addressing complexities in managing heterogeneous space systems at scale."

Cart.com is a unified commerce and logistics solutions provider for B2C and B2B companies is a fast-growing ecommerce platform founded by CEO Omair Tariq.

"In the last 12 months, Cart.com has dramatically grown its fulfillment network’s scale and technological capabilities," writes CEO Omail Tariq in his Houston Innovation Awards application. "We have been laser-focused on improving quality, performance and efficiency at scale while continuing to aggressively grow our customer base, expand our capabilities to customers in new industries and grow our physical presence to new locations. Prioritizing our strategic growth initiatives has been critical in the current macroeconomic environment as profitable growth remains paramount for our team."

Corrolytics, a technology startup founded to solve microbiologically influenced corrosion problems for industrial assets, secured the most votes from the Houston innovation community.

"If I could give myself advice before starting the company, I would say to embrace the challenges early on, as they are invaluable learning opportunities," Co-founder and CEO Anwar Sadek says. "Focus on building a strong network, especially with mentors and industry leaders who can guide you through the unknowns. Lastly, be prepared for the unexpected, stay adaptable, and never underestimate the importance of a clear mission that inspires both your team and your customers."

Impact Hub Houston is a nonprofit that serves as a pivotal hub within the city's innovation ecosystem, fostering a dynamic environment where changemakers, entrepreneurs, and community leaders converge to drive social impact and innovation forward.

"We mobilize problem solvers to use their knowledge, skills and technology to address community challenges, demonstrating our commitment to local impact while also providing a global reach for Houston innovators," says Grace Rodriguez, founder and CEO of the organization. "Our work extends to supporting underrepresented communities, and we work with public and private stakeholders to promote sustainable business practices that prioritize economic development, environmental stewardship and social equity."

Mitra Milleris the vice president of Houston Angel Network, but also founded and chairs Eagle Investors, a nonprofit group teaching students about the investment and innovation community. She serves as an active mentor for many organizations across Houston.

"Houston has the most friendly, open, collaborative, and inclusive innovation environment anywhere," Miller says. "When I ask individuals and organizations to partner on events and initiatives, they readily agree and give freely of their time and resources. There is a generosity of spirit that is very special to Houston."

Juliana Garaizar, founding partner of Energy Tech Nexus, invests with groups — such as Portfolia, Houston Angel Network, Business Angel Minority Association, and more — locally and beyond.

"I'm a hands on investor," sya says. "I offer mentorship and industry and other investor connections. I take advisory roles and board observer seats."

Phillip Yates is the founder and CEO of Equiliberty Inc., but wears a few other hats too. In 2011, he helped establish a pre-venture business incubator at the Houston Area Urban League Entrepreneurship Center. He served as general counsel for the Business Angel Minority Association and Direct Digital Holdings Inc., and currently serves as chairman of Impact Hub Houston.

"My favorite part of Houston's innovative ecosystem is the growing network of resources for founders," he says. "Given our racial, ethnic and culturally diverse population, we have a wider range of experiences and perspectives — an idea that lead to better problem solving, creative solutions and understanding of the needs our community.

This year, the Houston innovation community suffered the loss of two business leaders who left a significant impact on the ecosystem. Both individuals' careers were recognized with Trailblazer Legacy Awards.

Paul Frison, founder of the Houston Technology Center, and Scott Gale, executive director of Halliburton Labs, received the award posthumously. Frison died on September 5, and Gale died on September 24. The award was decided on by the 2024 judges and InnovationMap.

“I am immensely proud to honor these two remarkable individuals with the Trailblazer Award this year. It is fitting, as they represent two generations of building Houston’s ecosystem," 2023 Trailblazer Award recipient Brad Burke, managing director of the Rice Alliance and the associate vice president for industry and new ventures within Rice University's Office of Innovation, tells InnovationMap.

"Paul Frison was a pioneering leader who helped establish the Houston Technology Center and fostered the city’s tech ecosystem during the initial technology boom around the year 2000. Scott Gale, through his work at Halliburton Labs over the past five years, has been instrumental in launching Houston’s energy transition ecosystem," he continues. "Both have played pivotal roles in championing technology innovators.” Continue reading.

2 Houston health innovation leaders award grants to cancer-fighting researchers

dream team

Five cancer-fighting research projects were named inaugural recipients of a new grant program founded by two Houston institutions.

Last summer, Rice University and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center announced they were teaming up to form the new Cancer Bioengineering Collaborative. The shared initiative, created to form innovative technologies and bioengineering approaches to improve cancer research, diagnosis and treatment, recently launched with an event at the TMC3 Collaborative Building in Helix Park.

At the gathering, the Cancer Bioengineering Collaborative announced the projects that were selected for its first round of seed grants.

  • “Enhancing CAR-T immunotherapy via precision CRISPR/Cas-based epigenome engineering of high value therapeutic gene targets,” led by Isaac Hilton, associate professor of biosciences and bioengineering at Rice and a Cancer Research and Prevention Institute of Texas (CPRIT) scholar; and Michael Green, associate professor of lymphoma/myeloma at MD Anderson.
  • “Nanocluster and KRAS inhibitor-based combination therapy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma,” led by Linlin Zhang, assistant research professor of bioengineering at Rice; and Haoqiang Ying, associate professor of molecular and cellular oncology at MD Anderson.
  • “Engineering tumor-infiltrating fusobacteriumas a microbial cancer therapy,” led by Jeffrey Tabor, professor of bioengineering at Rice; and Christopher Johnston, associate professor of genomic medicine and director of microbial genomics within the Platform for Innovative Microbiome and Translational Research at MD Anderson.
  • “Preclinical study of nanoscale TRAIL liposomes as a neoadjuvant therapy for colorectal cancer liver metastasis,” led by Michael King, the E.D. Butcher Professor of Bioengineering at Rice, CPRIT scholar and special adviser to the provost on life science collaborations with the Texas Medical Center; and Xiling Shen, professor of gastrointestinal medical oncology at MD Anderson.
  • “Deciphering molecular mechanisms of cellular plasticity in MDS progression,” led by Ankit Patel, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rice and of neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine; and Pavan Bachireddy, assistant professor of hematopoietic biology and malignancy and lymphoma/myeloma at MD Anderson.

The event was a who’s who of Houston-based cancer specialists. Speakers included our city’s favorite Nobel laureate, Jim Allison, director of the James P. Allison Institute, as well as MD Anderson’s vice president of research, Eyal Gottlieb. Attendees were welcomed by the leaders of the initiative, Rice’s Gang Bao and MD Anderson’s Jeffrey Molldrem.

“This collaborative initiative builds on the strong foundation of our existing relationship, combining Rice’s expertise in bioengineering, artificial intelligence and nanotechnology with MD Anderson’s unmatched insights in cancer care and research,” Rice’s president Reginald DesRoches says at the event. “This is a momentous occasion to advance cancer research and treatment with the innovative fusion of engineering and medicine.”

The collaboration is part of Rice’s 10-year strategic plan for leadership in health innovation, called “Momentous: Personalized Scale for Global Impact.” Its goals include a commitment to responsible use of cutting-edge AI.

“As both institutions continue to make breakthroughs every day, we hope this collaborative will enable us to tackle the complex challenges of cancer care and treatment more effectively, ultimately improving the lives of patients here in Houston and beyond," Carin Hagberg, senior vice president and chief academic officer at MD Anderson, adds. "Whether our researchers are working on the South Campus or within the hedges of Rice, this collaborative will strengthen each other’s efforts and push the boundaries of what is possible in cancer.”

Houston innovator on how health tech’s rise offers roadmap for climatetech growth

guest column

Over the past several decades, climate tech has faced numerous challenges, ranging from inconsistent public support to a lack of funding from cautious investors. While grassroots organizations and climate innovators have made notable efforts to address urgent environmental issues, we have yet to see large-scale, lasting impact.

A common tendency is to compare climate tech to the rapid advancements made in digital and software technology, but perhaps a more appropriate parallel is the health tech sector, which encountered many of the same struggles in its early days.

Observing the rise of health tech and the economic and political support it received, we can uncover strategies that could stabilize and propel climate tech forward.

Health tech's slow but steady rise

Health tech’s slow upward trajectory began in the mid-20th century, with World War II serving as a critical turning point for medical research and development. Scientists working on wartime projects recognized the broader benefits of increased research funding for the general public, and soon after, the Public Health Service Act of 1944 was passed. This landmark legislation directed resources toward eradicating widespread diseases, viewing them as a national economic threat. By acknowledging diseases as a danger to both public health and the economy, the government laid the groundwork for significant policy changes.

This serves as an essential lesson for climate tech: if the federal government were to officially recognize climate change as a direct threat to the nation’s economy and security, it could lead to similar shifts in policy and resource allocation.

The role of public advocacy and federal support

The growth of health tech wasn’t solely reliant on government intervention. Public advocacy played a key role in securing ongoing support. Voluntary health agencies, such as the American Cancer Society, lobbied for increased funding and spread awareness, helping to attract public interest and investment. But even with this advocacy, early health tech startups struggled to secure venture capital. VCs were hesitant to invest in areas they didn’t fully understand, and without sustained government funding and public backing, it’s unlikely that health tech would have grown as quickly as it has.

The lesson here for climate tech is clear: strong public advocacy and education are crucial. However, unlike health tech, climate tech faces a unique obstacle — there is still a significant portion of the population that either denies the existence of climate change or doesn’t view it as an immediate concern. This lack of urgency makes it difficult to galvanize the public and attract the necessary long-term investment.

Government support: A mixed bag

There have been legislative efforts to support climate tech, though they haven’t yet led to the explosive growth seen in health tech. For example, the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 and the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 gave universities and small businesses the rights to profit from their innovations, including climate-related research. More recently, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 has been instrumental in advancing climate tech by creating opportunities to build projects, lower household energy costs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Despite this federal support, many climate tech companies are still struggling to scale. A primary concern for investors is the longer time horizon required for climate startups to yield returns. Scalability is crucial — companies must demonstrate how they will grow profitably over time, but many climate tech startups lack practical long-term business models.

As climate investor Yao Huang put it, “At the end of the day, a climate tech company needs to demonstrate how it will make money. We can apply political pressure and implement governmental policies, but if it is not profitable, it won’t scale or create meaningful impact.”

The public’s role in scaling climate tech

Health tech’s success can largely be attributed to a combination of federal funding, public advocacy, and long-term investment from knowledgeable VCs. Climate tech has federal support in place, thanks to the IRA, but is still lacking the same level of public backing. Health tech overcame its hurdles when public awareness about the importance of medical advancements grew, and voluntary health agencies helped channel donations toward research and innovation.

In contrast, climate nonprofits like Cool Earth, Environmental Defense Fund, and Clean Air Task Force face a severe funding shortfall. A 2020 study revealed that climate nonprofits aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions only received $2 billion in donations, representing just 0.4% of all philanthropic funding. Without greater public awareness/sense of urgency and financial support, these groups cannot effectively advocate for climate tech startups or lobby for necessary policy changes. This type of philanthropic funding is also known as ‘catalytic capital’ or ‘impact-first-capital’. Prime Impact Fund is one such fund that does not ‘view investments as concessionary on return’. Rather their patient and flexible capital allows support of high risk, high-reward ventures.

A path forward for climate tech

The most valuable insight from health tech’s growth is that government intervention, while critical, is not enough to guarantee the success of an emerging sector. Climate tech needs a stronger support system, including informed investors, widespread public backing, and nonprofits with the financial resources to advocate for industry-wide growth.

If we can channel the same sense of urgency and public commitment toward climate change as we did for health crises in the past, climate tech could overcome its current obstacles.The future of climate tech depends not just on government policies, but on educating the public, rallying financial support, and building a robust infrastructure for long-term growth.

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Nada Ahmed is the founding partner at Houston-based Energy Tech Nexus, a startup hub for the energy transition.

This article originally ran on EnergyCapital.
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