Shen Lab at Penn
Welcome to the Laboratory of Li Shen at the Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) at the University of Pennsylvania. We are affiliated with DBEI and Radiology at PSOM, CIS at SEAS, six graduate groups (GCB|GGEB|NGG at BGS, AMCS at SAS, BioEng|CIS at SEAS), and multiple institutes/centers (IBI, AI2D, ASSET, I3H, ITMAT, IOA, LDI, MINS, PennAITech).
The central theme of our lab is focused on developing and applying informatics, computing and data science methods for discovering actionable knowledge from complex biomedical and health data (e.g., genetics, omics, imaging, biomarker, outcome, EHR, health care). The goal is threefold:
- advance informatics, computing and data science by producing novel algorithms for analyzing large scale heterogeneous data sets;
- provide important new insights into the phenotypic characteristics and genetic and molecular mechanisms of normal and/or disordered biological structures and functions to impact the development of new diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive approaches; and
- improve health and health care by contributing to collaborative, multidisciplinary research that influences policy and practice.
Our research spans machine learning, medical image computing, biomedical and health informatics, trustworthy AI, NLP/LLMs, network science, imaging genomics, and multi-omics and systems biology, with applications to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) and other complex disorders. Our primary focus is on developing and applying advanced AI strategies to analyze large-scale biobank and health datasets, aiming to advance the understanding, early detection, treatment, and prevention of complex disorders, while promoting overall human health and care delivery. We also explore emerging frontiers such as generative AI, agentic AI, and trustworthy multimodal AI to push the boundaries of biomedical research.
We are always excited to work with highly motivated students and scholars with training in biomedical informatics, computer science, AI/ML, mathematics/statistics, engineering, or biology/medicine/healthcare. We may have opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, and for postdoctoral researchers, subject to funding availability. If you are interested, please email li.shen@pennmedicine.upenn.edu for additional information.