National Eye Institute awards grant to support AI research for the diagnosis and treatment of uveitis

(Image credit: AdobeStock/issaronow)

The National Eye Institute awarded a $423,500 grant to support research focused on the diagnosis and treatment of uveitis. Siamak Yousefi, PhD, associate professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and fellow of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), is set to lead this research project, titled, “A Generalizable Deep Learning Platform for Unifying Quantification of Experimental Autoimmune Uveitis.”

According to the news release from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), Yousefi’s research will use a disease model called Experimental Autoimmune Uveitis (EAU). This model mirrors essential characteristics of human uveitis. However, current methods of assessing EAU are inconsistent, making it difficult to accurately determine the severity of the disease and evaluate potential therapies. The potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in studying uveitis and EAU specifically is underexplored. Yousefi’s team aims to develop AI tools that can enhance the accuracy and consistency of diagnosing and grading the severity of uveitis.¹

The research is designed to focus on creating high-quality datasets that include images from EAU models, captured using fundus photography and optical coherence tomography. The team will then develop AI models to evaluate uveitis severity across 5 levels. These models will be rigorously tested to ensure they are reliable and applicable to a wide range of cases.

Yousefi in quoted in UTHSC’s release¹, saying, “Our AI-driven approach to experimental uveitis represents a transformative step forward, enabling more precise and uniform quantification of disease severity. This project will enhance the accuracy, consistency, and speed of uveitis research, paving the way for novel treatments and drug discovery.”

This initiative is a collaborative effort, bringing together experts from various fields, with access to extensive uveitis datasets previously generated at the National Institutes of Health. The outcomes of this research, including datasets and AI tools, will be published in leading scientific journals and made publicly available to advance the vision research community.¹

Reference:

1. National Eye Institute Awards $423,500 for Innovative Eye Disease Research Using AI. University of Tennessee Health Science Center. February 5, 2025. Accessed February 21, 2025. https://news.uthsc.edu/national-eye-institute-awards-423500-for-innovative-eye-disease-research-using-ai/