European Researchers’ Night 2023: Interview with Stephanie Lopez

On 29 September Ulysseus celebrates the European Researchers’ Night, a Europe-wide public event which aims at bringing science closer to the public in a fun and inspiring ways. For this occasion, some Ulysseus experts explain us in a series of four mini interviews how Artificial Intelligence is bringing benefits to citizens in different ways.

At this interview, Stephanie Lopez, Data Scientist and Principal investigator of LungScreenAI at Université Côte d’Azur (Nice, France), addresses the question “Does AI help detect early stages of any medical condition and how is this possible?”

Stephanie Lopez, Ph.D. in computer sciences (Artificial Intelligence), has been leading the LungScreenAI project in collaboration with radiologists since 2018. Her work began with identifying their specific needs and crafting a suitable AI strategy. With promising results from her proof-of-concept, she secured additional funding, including support from AstraZeneca, to take the project forward.

Since then, Stephanie has built a team to integrate the AI application into a visualization tool, providing feedback from radiologists. She also tackled regulatory requirements for accessing hospital data, ensuring the AI system’s robustness. These efforts have culminated in the integration of LungScreenAI into an upcoming clinical trial at the University Hospital of Nice, in southern France.

Beyond technical contributions, Stephanie is actively exploring industrial applications of her project, illustrating AI’s potential in healtcare improvement and underlining her commitment to its growth and impact. She is also committed to popularising science and promoting women in data science (WiMLDS).