Network Medicine and AI: Shaping the Future of Biomedical Research and Healthcare
Karolinska Institutet is hosting a symposium focused on how network medicine and artificial intelligence (AI) are transforming how we understand disease, develop therapies, and deliver patient care. The event will bring together leading researchers and clinicians to explore how network-based thinking and modern machine learning are moving biomedicine beyond traditional single-target approaches toward mechanism-based, patient-specific interventions.
Mapping Disease, Guiding Treatment
Network medicine views disease as disruptions in interconnected molecular, cellular, and phenotypic networks. This systems perspective reveals disease modules, shared mechanisms, and hidden comorbidities. When combined with AI, these insights can be applied across large datasets - from multi-omics and clinical records to chemical libraries - enabling earlier diagnosis, drug repurposing, and more effective combination therapies.
The symposium program will highlight key developments, including:
- Building robust disease networks and integrating multimodal data
- Using predictive models to prioritize targets, anticipate side effects, and guide clinical trials
- Real-world examples of how these methods are informing clinical decision-making
“Network medicine gives us the map; AI provides the compass,” says Professor Paolo Parini of Karolinska Institutet. “Together, they allow us to navigate biological complexity, identify actionable mechanisms, and make precision medicine a reality for patients.”
By bringing together experts from academia, healthcare, and industry, the symposium aims to foster collaboration, share best practices, and define a clear research and implementation agenda. It reflects Karolinska Institutet’s commitment to rigorous, reproducible science that is ready for the clinic ensuring that systems-level insights and computational power translate into better outcomes for patients and society.
Symposium
Network Medicine and AI: Shaping the Future of Biomedical Research and Healthcare
Date: December 5, 2025
Time: 09:00-16:45 (registration starts at 08.30)
Venue: Andreas Vesalius, Campus Solna
Please note that this is an in-person event only. Registration needed, see link above. Lunch will be served.
Invited speakers:
Joe Loscalzo
Samuel A. Levine Professor of Medicine, Hersey Distinguished Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Physician-in-Chief Emeritus, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Albert-László Barabási
Network Science Institute and Department of Physics, Northeastern University Division of Network Medicine, Harvard University
Department of Network and Data Science, Central European University
Jan Baumbach
Professor and Director of the Institute for Computational Systems Biology, University of Hamburg
Harald Schmidt
Professor of Pharmacology, Chairman Department of Pharmacology and Personalised Medicine, Pharmacology and Personalised Medicine School for Mental Health & Neuroscience Fac. Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University
Sebastiaan Meijer
Professor of Health Care Logistics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Serving as head of department for Biomedical Engineering and Health Systems (MTH), and vice dean for the school of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH). Coordinator for EDIH Health Data Sweden.