Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jeff Leek @jtleek.bsky.social · 14d

A cool story that connects the first data I ever analyzed to the work we are doing with Synthesize ! youtube.com/shorts/zN4_m...

The Experiments #Biology Can’t Run — Until Now. #AI #entrepreneur #technology #tech #geneexpression

YouTube video by Madrona

youtube.com

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Jeff Leek @jtleek.bsky.social · 22d

Generative genomics predicts future and impossible experiments! Read the new preprint from Synthesize Bio: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... and anyone can try our models on the cloud or in R/Python! product.synthesize.bio

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Reposted by Jeff Leek

Fred Hutch Biostatistics Program @fredhutchbiostat.bsky.social · 23d

CAIA is breaking down research silos with federated learning. AI models learn from diverse data without moving it.

Read more: www.canceralliance.ai/blog/beyond-...

Congrats to @jtleek.bsky.social + CAIA for advancing secure, equitable cancer research.

#CancerAI #FederatedLearning #Biostatistics

Research beyond silos - Cancer AI Alliance

The Cancer AI Alliance (CAIA) brings together top cancer centers and tech leaders to break down institutional silos. Using federated learning, they securely train AI models on diverse patient data, ac...

www.canceralliance.ai

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Jeff Leek @jtleek.bsky.social · 29d

Dude this is like pro-grade!!! I mashed that subscribe button :)

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Reposted by Jeff Leek

Johns Hopkins Engineering @hopkinsengineer.bsky.social · Sep 2

Our pioneering partnership with leading cancer centers and tech companies has been recognized by TIME magazine’s #TIME100AI 2025 for groundbreaking work in artificial intelligence and cancer research!

Jeff Leek @jtleek.bsky.social · Aug 28

Honored to see the Cancer AI Alliance included on TIME's list of the TIME100 AI of 2025! #TIME100AI.

CAIA has been a true team sport based on the shared commitment of all our Alliance members to accelerate cancer research and ultimately improve and save patient’s lives.

time.com/collections/...

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Jeff Leek @jtleek.bsky.social · Aug 28

So amazing to be working with you on this fantastic sprint!

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Jeff Leek @jtleek.bsky.social · Aug 28

It is my favorite measure of accomplishment that people that work with me have gone on to do amazing things that make them happy and the world better!

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Jeff Leek @jtleek.bsky.social · Aug 28

Honored to see the Cancer AI Alliance included on TIME's list of the TIME100 AI of 2025! #TIME100AI.

CAIA has been a true team sport based on the shared commitment of all our Alliance members to accelerate cancer research and ultimately improve and save patient’s lives.

time.com/collections/...

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Jeff Leek @jtleek.bsky.social · Aug 27

Check out this great post explaining our approach to enabling AI model learning and reasoning across multiple-institutions while carefully protecting (and never transferring!) patient data! www.canceralliance.ai/blog/caia-fe...

How CAIA harnesses federated learning for secure collaboration - Cancer AI Alliance

How can we train AI models on the collective knowledge of the nation's top cancer centers without exposing sensitive patient information? CAIA’s solution is an AI training approach called federated ...

www.canceralliance.ai

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Jeff Leek @jtleek.bsky.social · Aug 19

I was recently on a panel talking about Synthesize Bio and the future of AI in biotech! www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR5s...

The Future of Drug Discovery: AI, Data, and Design

YouTube video by Madrona

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Jeff Leek

Fred Hutch @fredhutch.org · Aug 8

Fred Hutch data scientists Carrie Wright and Elizabeth Humphries weigh in on OpenAI's first open-weight reasoning #AI, noting its potential for personalization in research applications while emphasizing thoughtful integration. Via @nature.com go.nature.com/4mFSoRb

@fredhutchbiostat.bsky.social

OpenAI launches reasoning LLM that you can download and tweak

One version of the gpt-oss large language model can run on a laptop, and performs nearly as well as the company’s most powerful models.

go.nature.com

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Jeff Leek @jtleek.bsky.social · Aug 7

Code from my first live R package demo talk in honor of Hadley at #jsm2025

gist.github.com/jtleek/8c927...

Steve Salerno, Awan Afiaz, and I have been developing the scorcher package to help you more easily fit deep learning models in R !

github.com/jtleek/scorc...

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Jeff Leek @jtleek.bsky.social · Aug 6

The highlight of my #jsm2025 talk was @hadley.nz roasting the panel with ChatGPT.😂

I also love that he talked about aspiring to kindness!

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Jeff Leek @jtleek.bsky.social · Aug 6

We are about to be live talking about how cool @hadley.nz is in CC214 at 1030am ! Come hang out if you are at #jsm2025

Fred Hutch Biostatistics Program @fredhutchbiostat.bsky.social · Aug 5

✨ Wednesday at #JSM2025:

👉 @jtleek.bsky.social joins the panel honoring @hadley.nz and the power of the #tidyverse.

👉 Lucas Liu presents on cancer recurrence detection using deep learning + LLMs, outperforming traditional NLP.

#FredHutch #LLMs #CancerAI #StatGraphics #RStats #DataScience

2025 Joint Statistical Meetings - Statistics, Data Science, and AI Enriching Society

The Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) is the largest gathering of statisticians held in North America. Attended by more than 5,000 people, meeting activities include oral presentations, panel sessions,...

ww2.amstat.org

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Jeff Leek @jtleek.bsky.social · Jul 28

My family and I are going to be running the 5k at Obliteride again this year! (we'll be biking as soon as the boys are old enough :)). We are raising funds for data science and AI efforts to find cancer cures at the Fred Hutch, consider donating if you are able! secure.fredhutch.org/site/TR/Obli...

Jeff Leek

Help Fred Hutch Cancer Center advance innovative research. Donate today!

secure.fredhutch.org

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Jeff Leek @jtleek.bsky.social · Jul 22

Wild congratulations to one of the most incredible people I’ve ever worked with. @benlangmead.bsky.social I hope you are celebrating this very well deserved honor!!!

JHU Computer Science @jhucompsci.bsky.social · Jul 22

Congratulations to @benlangmead.bsky.social on his promotion to full professor! 🎉 Prof. Langmead is recognized across the computational and life sciences fields for his innovative methods helping to transform how biomedical researchers and other life scientists access and use DNA sequencing data. 🧬

Ben Langmead promoted to full professor. Computer science.

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Jeff Leek @jtleek.bsky.social · Jun 10

Also empirical estimates don't agree with the simulation....

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24068246/

An estimate of the science-wise false discovery rate and application to the top medical literature - PubMed

The accuracy of published medical research is critical for scientists, physicians and patients who rely on these results. However, the fundamental belief in the medical literature was called into seri...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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Jeff Leek @jtleek.bsky.social · Jun 4

These are not just grants. This is thousands of people who devoted their lives and careers - taking pay cuts, working long hours, living with uncertainty - all for the chance to try to make people's lives a bit better for you and your loved ones. This breaks my heart.

Joshua Tucker @jatucker.bsky.social · Jun 4

Cutting NIH or NSF funding sounds abstract. Seeing what research is actually being cut makes it real. Kudos to @nytimes.com for this piece:

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Here Are the Nearly 2,500 Medical Research Grants Canceled or Delayed by Trump

Some cuts have been starkly visible, but the country’s medical grant-making machinery has also radically transformed outside the public eye.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Jeff Leek

Rob Patro @robp.bsky.social · May 30

Damn... I wonder why scientists wouldn't want to come to the US to compete at the highest levels for highly-restricted funding that then gets pulled surreptitiously for some imagined reason or no reason at all, all while being vilified by the federal government for their work? A mystery! 🤔

Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social · May 30

No words

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Reposted by Jeff Leek

Ben Langmead @benlangmead.bsky.social · May 29

Industry friends, now is the time for MUCH more speaking out on behalf of academic colleagues under duress. Here are core open source methods that many of your products doubtlessly depend on either directly or indirectly (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMMER) being abruptly defunded. Make noise.

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Jeff Leek @jtleek.bsky.social · May 28

If you are around Seattle, see ya there :)

Fred Hutch Biostatistics Program @fredhutchbiostat.bsky.social · May 28

🤖 UW Statistics hosts Hutch’s own @jtleek.bsky.social this Friday:

“Building and Using AI Engines – What Do We Do When We’ve Machine Learned Everything?”

📅 May 30 • 🕒 3:30 PM PT • 📍 UW Statistics

🔗 stat.uw.edu/seminars/bui...

#Statistics #AI #MachineLearning #FredHutch #UWStats #DataScience

bsky.app

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Reposted by Jeff Leek

Alexandra Rink @alexandrarink79.bsky.social · May 22

Bright and early talk by @jtleek.bsky.social at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Grand Rounds on building and scaling AI engines in oncology.

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Jeff Leek @jtleek.bsky.social · May 19

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Roger D. Peng @rdpeng.org · May 19

The final (more or less) episode of the Not So Standard Deviations podcast is out now. Thanks for listening! nssdeviations.com/190-indefini...

Not So Standard Deviations: 190 - Indefinite Leave

190 - Indefinite Leave   After a very brief summary of the changing data science landscape, Hilary and Roger do not actually end the podcast but discuss taking an indefinite leave, leaving the do...

nssdeviations.com

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Reposted by Jeff Leek

Mike Schatz @mikeschatz.bsky.social · May 6

Congratulations to the @jxtxfoundation.bsky.social scholarship winners for the 2025 Biology of Genomes conference @cshlnews.bsky.social! Learn more about their research and the scholarship program here: jxtxfoundation.org/news/2025-3-... #bog25

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Jeff Leek @jtleek.bsky.social · May 2

Synthesize Bio's platform is awesome as a teaching tool. In just a couple of minutes you can (a) find a dataset, (b) run a validated workflow like @mikelove.bsky.social's published EDA workflow, and (c) share with your friends:
app.synthesize.bio/notebooks/3a...

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