AI-AGE research team received the ethical approaval to start research activites.
Ethical approval for medical research activities
Equipment specification and public call for offers
The private institution Faculty of Information Systems and Technologies, University of Donja Gorica (UDG) invites you to take part in the process of submitting bids for the selection of the most favorable supplier for the procurement of equipment for the Faculty of Information Systems and Technologies, UDG for the purposes of implementing “AI-AGE Artificial Intelligence in to the identification of new non-invasive biomarkers of aging”, grant number 04-082/23-2528/1. The detailed information is made available at the following link.
Participation at the EAsDEC 2024 Conference
Researchers from the AI-AGE team participate in the he 34th EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR DIABETIC EYE COMPLICATIONS (EAsDEC) Meeting, which was hosted in the city of Milan, Italy. Initial research results from the AI-AGE project were presented in a form of a poster by prof. N Popovic and prof. A. Adzic Zecevic. The conference took place from 30 May to 1 June. More information can be found here.
ABSTRACT – Introduction / study design: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is associated with changes in retinal microvascular complexity measured by fractal dimension (Df). Expression of micro RNAs (miRs), -146a and -101 is also affected by T2D, but the studies investigating these miRs in context of microvascular changes in T2D are scarce. Since hypertension (HTN) and Alzheimer’s dementia (AD) frequently coexist in patients with T2D, in the present cross-sectional observational prospective study, participants were divided in two groups – healthy (H, n=8), and with chronic disease (D, n=20, suffering from T2D, HTN and/or AD). The purpose: Study explores association between changes of retinal microvascular Df and expression levels of circulating miR-146a and miR-101 in patients with T2D. The influence of HTN and AD on this association is also investigated. Methods: Retinal fundus images were captured by using a non-mydriatic, hand-held MIIS-HORUS scope DES200. The optic disc-centered images were manually segmented, binarized, cropped to 350-pixel radius, and Df was determined by using ImageJ 1.53q. MiRs were isolated from plasma, quantified by qRT-PCR and normalized to expression levels of miR-361-5p. SPSS Statistics 29.0.1.0., t-test and ANCOVA were used to compare the two groups. P<0.05 was considered significant. Results: Age was not different between the 2 groups (Hvs.D mean age±SE=63.6±2.9 vs.68.5±1.8, p=0.17). Df and miR-101 expression were decreased in the group D (Hvs.D mean: Df±SE=1.36±0.01 vs.1.32±0.01, p=0.016; miR-101±SE=1.68±0.32 vs.0.83±0.22, p=0.041). Eight participants in the group D had T2D (1-moderate, and 7-no diabetic retinopathy). All participants with T2D had HTN, and 5 of them also had AD. Next, we used HTN and AD as covariates to account for effects of these comorbidities, and to determine effects of T2D. This analysis showed: in addition to decreased Df and miR-101 expression, T2D was associated with increased expression of miR-146a (Hvs.D mean miR-146a±SE=0.58±0.29 vs.1.69±0.17, p=0.018). Conclusions: fa Changes in Df and in expression of miR-101 are non-specific, and can be caused by T2D and concurrent comorbidities. Increased expression of miR-146a might be a part of the unique expression pattern of the circulatory miRNAs associated with T2D.
UDG at the ASU Cintana Presidents’ Summit: Advancing AI in Education
In April 2024, a delegation from the University of Donja Gorica (UDG) participated in the ASU-Cintana Presidents’ Summit in Tempe, Arizona. The summit, hosted by Arizona State University (ASU) and Cintana Education, brought together university leaders, researchers, and industry experts to discuss global academic collaborations, innovation in higher education, and the role of AI-driven digital transformation.
Key Takeaways from the Summit
The event featured distinguished speakers, including Michael Crow (President, ASU), Julia Rosen (VP of Global Academic Initiatives, ASU), and Elizabeth Reilley (Executive Director, AI Acceleration, ASU). Discussions centered on emerging AI and ML applications in education, research, and healthcare, highlighting the need for interdisciplinary approaches to solve global challenges.
For UDG, this summit was an opportunity to strengthen ties with ASU and explore collaborative initiatives in AI-driven medical research, aligning with ongoing projects like AI-AGE. This project focuses on leveraging AI/ML techniques for medical applications, particularly in biomarker discovery and aging-related research.
AI-AGE and the Future of AI in Medicine
The AI-AGE project, which investigates deep learning for analyzing retinal images to identify biomarkers of aging, directly benefits from insights gained at the summit. ASU’s AI Acceleration initiatives and global partnerships set a benchmark for developing AI-driven solutions that are scalable and impactful in healthcare and medical diagnostics.
Through its participation in the ASU-Cintana network, UDG is positioning itself at the forefront of AI research in medicine, ensuring that its work in computer vision, deep learning, and medical data analysis contributes to the global conversation on AI for healthcare transformation.
Looking Ahead
The collaboration between UDG, ASU, and Cintana opens doors for joint research, academic exchanges, and industry-driven AI applications. One of the first steps in collaboration is creation of dual degrees between UDG and ASU. One of the first steps will be the creation of dual degree programs between the Faculty for information systems and techologies and ASU, which is the key for advancing the FIST/UDG as institution. As AI-AGE advances, UDG remains committed to pioneering innovative AI solutions for medicine, leveraging global partnerships to ensure impactful research and real-world applications.
Participation in the ANSO Training Workshop
A very successful two-day workshop for students and industry took place on April 22nd and 23rd 2023, on which young researches from AI-AGE gave presentation. The workshop was organized in the context of the training project called “Competency Training for IoT and AI – InnovateYourFuture” supported by ANSO – Alliance of International Science Organizations, China. The organization is done in collaboration with EuroCC Montenegro and Montenegrin AI Association. During the event, UDG also presented AI-AGE project, as well as some of other projects currently implemented at UDG.
Mr Dejan Babic gave presentation on ML/AI in medicine
Wrapping up the IEEE IT2024 Conference
AI-AGE presented at the IEEE IT2024
AI-AGE project was presented at the 28th IEEE IT2024 Conference that took place 21-24 Feb 2024 in Zabljak, Montenegro. The presentation took place in a poster section dedicated to project presentations. We had a chance to talk to conference attendees, our colleauges from Montenegro and abroad. Also, the next day we had a large group of students participating in the EuroCC Workshop on HPC and Industry Applications, where we had a chance to discuss the project posters and take their attention to AI-AGE and other projects presented at the conference.
28th IEEE IT2024 Conference
AI-AGE project will be presented in the special session dedicated to project results dissemination on 21 Feb 2024. UDG is co-organizer of the conference and FIST researchers will take active participation in the conference.
Attending the 2024 World Digital Education Conference in Shanghai
Ai-AGE team members had the opportunity to visit Shanghai and attend the 2024 World Digital Education Conference, organized by the Ministry of Education of China and UNESCO. The event gathered over 900 participants, including more than 400 international representatives from around 80 countries.
🔹 Key Themes of the Conference:
- Digital and Smart Education – presentation of results and proposed frameworks and strategies (China, UNESCO, OECD).
- Formation of the World Digital Education Alliance (WDEA) – an alliance inviting education ministers from various countries to join.
- Global Opening of China’s Digital Education Platform – www.csmartedu.cn as a potential global resource for online education.
📌 Organization & Key Takeaways:
The conference was well-organized, primarily structured around presentations with limited opportunities for discussion and interaction. Key speakers included representatives from China, UNESCO, and OECD, along with a few presentations based on experiences from other countries.
💡 Key Insights:
- Significant progress has been made in digital education, but challenges and obstacles remain.
- There is a strong global interest in collaboration and partnerships in this field.
- China’s initiatives in education could have a global impact, especially through the newly opened online learning platform.
Attending this conference was a valuable experience, reinforcing the idea that digitalization in education is an unstoppable process—the real question now is how we will shape and implement it on a global scale. 🚀🌍
Scientific Grants Ceremony by the Ministry
Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation of Montenegro organized a ceremony for scientific grants recipients. The event took place on 20 Jan 2024. There was around 100 applications in the call. 89 applications were eligible, and 22 applications were granted funding for the research and scientific capacity building.
