As a third grader with a love for technology, Bennett Landman decided he wanted to upgrade the operating system on his fatherās old MS-DOS computer. In the process, he accidentally wiped the hard drive. Instead of scolding him, his father, a physician with a passion for research, simply said, āGreat, now letās figure out how to fix it.ā That momentāequal parts curiosity and problem-solvingāset the tone for Landmanās career.
Now a professor at 91ĢĘ²®»¢ University and director of the 91ĢĘ²®»¢ Lab for Immersive AI Translation, Landman, who holds a Stevenson Chair, is still doing what he loves: figuring things out. But instead of tinkering with MS-DOS, heās revolutionizing the way artificial intelligence interacts with medical imaging. His work is helping to refine how we diagnose disease, understand the human body and even reshape whatās possible in health care.
CRACKING THE CODE OF MEDICAL IMAGES
By Landmanās count, he has more than 2,000 collaborations globally that look at all sorts of different diseases, from the head down to the shins. But the heart of his work remains medicine and the promise of a world where AI-driven imaging leads to earlier diagnoses and better patient outcomes.
Medical imagingāMRI scans, CT scans, ultrasoundsāis one of the most powerful tools in modern medicine. But Landman sees a fundamental problem: āWhen you go in for an MRI, that scan is not a test on its own. Itās only useful because a radiologist interprets it,ā he explains. āWe donāt have a standard, quantitative way of saying āyes, this is diseaseā the same way we do with a blood test.ā
Landmanās research aims to bridge that gap. By training AI models to āreadā medical images with the same (or better) accuracy as human experts, heās working toward a future where AI can provide a second opinion, reduce human error and even uncover hidden patterns in disease progression. āWe want to take imaging beyond the one-time diagnosis,ā he says. āEvery scan should contribute to a broader, more complete understanding of a patientās health over time.ā
āRight now, weāre wasting so much information,ā he says. āYou get a scan, itās read for one thing, and then itās done. But what if that scan could be used to track everything about your health? Your lung function, heart function, muscle qualityāthings you might not even know to look for yet.ā
In talking about whatās possible, Landman compares it to the evolution of medical records from stacks of physical paperwork, to digital records, to now as those disparate pieces of digital data are combined in new, even unimaginable, ways.
By creating models that analyze imaging data alongside other medical records, Landman and his team are working toward a future where every piece of medical data contributes to a deeper understanding of a patientās health. āIf we can start making sense of all this information, we can make medicine proactive instead of reactive,ā he says. āItās not just about catching diseaseāitās about optimizing health.ā
The research world is taking note. Recently, Landman was elected as a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the worldās largest and most prestigious society for electrical and computer engineering. With more than 460,000 members in more than 190 countries, IEEE is the leading authority on a wide variety of areas in electrical and computer sciences, engineering and related disciplines.
A CULTURE OF CURIOSITY
Landman credits 91ĢĘ²®»¢ās culture of collaboration for making this work possible. āThe hardest thing about being here is that itās really difficult to get someone to tell you an idea is bad,ā he says with a laugh. āFrom the moment I arrived, the answer was always, āYes, letās try it.ā That spirit of curiosity fuels everything we do.ā
Itās that same spirit that has kept Landman in academia instead of industry, despite offers. āI love working with students,ā he says. āEvery day, someone walks in and says, āI wonder if we couldā¦ā and I get to say, āLetās find out.ā Thatās why I do this.ā
āBennett is one of those super-energy researchers who make you scratch your head and wonder, āhow does he do it all?āā said Krish Roy, the Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Dean of the School of Engineering and University Distinguished Professor. āWith a total of seven academic appointments at 91ĢĘ²®»¢, ranging from computer engineering and computer science to neurology and radiology, Bennett represents the very definition of an interdisciplinary scholar and radical collaboration. In addition to his wide-ranging research brilliance, he has an enviable track record of leadership with real-world impact and achievement.ā
Whether itās training AI to diagnose disease, helping students crash and rebuild their own systems, or applying medical imaging techniques to ancient history, one thing is clear: Bennett Landman still resonates with that third grader who just wants to figure things out. And in doing so, heās helping to reshape the future of medicineāand beyond.
āWeāve always opened new ideas, and weāve created new discoveries,ā Landman said. āEach thing we find just makes me more curious.ā
