Speaker: Hani Hagras
Title: Explainable Artificial Intelligence for the Identification of Novel Mammalian Enhancers and Their Epigenetic Code
Time: 3:00 PM, June 25, 2025(Wednesday)
Location: 290 Arts and Science Building
Abstract:
This talk explores novel True Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI)systems to unravel the mysteries of mammalian enhancers and their epigenetic regulation. Enhancers are crucial non-coding DNA regions that dictate gene expression, playing a vital role in cellular differentiation and development. While traditional machine learning methods can accurately predict enhancer locations, they often lack transparency, making it difficult to understand why a particular region is identified as an enhancer. This research leverages XAI techniques to build models that not only predict novel mammalian enhancers but also provide interpretable rules and insights into the underlying epigenetic code – the specific combinations of histone modifications and other epigenetic marks that characterize enhancer activity. By making the AI's decision-making process transparent, this approach aims to accelerate our understanding of gene regulation and its implications for health and disease.
Personal Introduction:
Professor Hani Hagras holds the position of Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Essex, UK, concurrently serving as Director of Impact, Director of the Computational Intelligence Centre, and Head of the Artificial Intelligence Research Group. He is a Fellow of IEEE, IET, PFHEA, AIIA, and AAIA. His primary research centers on Explainable AI (XAI) and Data Science, with applications spanning finance, cyber-physical systems, neuroscience, life sciences, intelligent robotics, and industrial process control. Author of over 500 publications and holder of 11 industrial patents in XAI, he ranks among the world's top 2% most-cited scientists (Scopus 2021) and is a globally top-ranked scholar (top 0.05%, ScholarGPS). Professor Hagras has received numerous prestigious awards, including twice the IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems Outstanding Paper Award, multiple IEEE FUZZ Conference Best Paper Awards, the Global Telecommunications Business Award (2015, 2017, with BT), IEEE CIS Distinguished Lecturer (2016), University of Essex Research Impact Award (2017), and awards for knowledge transfer and innovation. He serves as Associate Editor for leading journals like IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems and IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence, and has chaired major IEEE conferences including FUZZ-IEEE.
[Editor: Sijia Wang]