Early diagnosis of diseases using AI.
Dr. Pham Huy Hieu, the youngest recipient of this year's Golden Globe Science and Technology Award (presented by the Central Youth Union and the Ministry of Science and Technology), is currently a lecturer at the Institute of Engineering and Computer Science and Deputy Director of the VinUni-Illinois Smart Health Research Center (VinUni University).
Throughout his research career, he has produced numerous scientific works that have brought value to the community. Among them, two works in the field of healthcare that he is most proud of are "Research and development of large-scale medical imaging facilities to support the construction of early disease prediction models" and "VAIPE Solution: A smart healthcare monitoring and support system for Vietnamese people".
Dr. Pham Huy Hieu is the youngest scientist to be honored with this year's Golden Globe Science and Technology Award.
"The first research I participated in was at The Vingroup Big Data Research Institute, under the leadership of Dr. Nguyen Quy Ha, the Institute's Executive Director. "This research aims to collect, standardize, and label very large-scale medical imaging databases to support the development of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that assist in lesion localization and early classification of diseases, especially dangerous and common diseases in Vietnam," Hieu shared.
With this work, his research team has so far published five large-scale datasets on medical imaging diagnostics. The datasets collected and standardized by the team are completely open and free to the domestic and international scientific community.
"These datasets have been cited and utilized by hundreds of research groups worldwide to evaluate the effectiveness of algorithms and machine learning models based on the data. Students at engineering universities across the country have also used these datasets for their studies and research. This research is part of our efforts to solve problems faced by Vietnamese people, while simultaneously promoting open science and open data," said Dr. Hieu.
Dr. Pham Huy Hieu and students participated in presenting their research at the IEEE Statistical Signal Processing Conference held at VinUni University.
The second study aims to develop a mobile solution integrating AI and data analytics that allows for the collection, management, and analysis of individuals' health data. Medication habits, heart rate, blood pressure, height, weight, and other important health indicators will be collected via smartphones and analyzed to provide recommendations on safe medication use, warnings about incorrect medication use or overuse, and early diagnosis of diseases.
"We are currently in the process of testing and deploying this application in practice to evaluate its effectiveness, with the aim of applying it to larger communities such as groups of users with hypertension, cardiovascular disease, or diabetes. For us, scientific research only truly has full meaning when it is applied in practice and creates positive changes in people's lives. This is also why we dedicate so much attention and effort to this research," he said.
"This is a very worthwhile job."
Sharing his thoughts on his interest in the healthcare sector, he stated that low-cost, smart digital healthcare solutions that open up access on a large scale will be particularly significant in improving public healthcare capacity.
Dr. Pham Huy Hieu during a lecture at VinUni University.
The future of healthcare lies in digitizing all individual health indicators, collecting and analyzing them using data-driven predictive models to provide recommendations and early diagnoses of diseases. This helps improve treatment effectiveness and reduce the burden on the healthcare system.
"On another level, we want to promote the process of bringing new, affordable healthcare technologies to the vast majority of people, regardless of income or geographical location. This is a very worthwhile endeavor, and achieving it will create a significant social impact," he shared.
As the youngest scientist among the recipients of the 2023 Golden Globe Award for Science and Technology, he said it was an honor and a privilege.
"This is a special opportunity for me to express my gratitude to the leaders of Vingroup Corporation, VinUni University, the Institute of Computer Science and Engineering, and the VinUni-Illinois Smart Health Research Center where I work, for dedicating their best resources to building a professional working environment that encourages freedom and creativity, allowing me to focus my time on teaching and research with the support of a modern, streamlined management system and simplified procedures," Dr. Hieu shared emotionally.
At the same time, Dr. Hieu expressed his hope that more and more talented young people would dedicate their love for science and their expertise to developing technology and training people.
Dr. Pham Huy Hieu (far left) and his research team at VinUni University.
"My expectation is that the country will have a strong generation of talented young scientists with high intelligence and a strong desire to contribute, to lead the development of the country's technology and science. At the same time, they will create solutions that bring practical benefits to the people. This is a job that demands dedication and sacrifice, but it is truly meaningful work," he expressed.
After graduating from Hanoi University of Science and Technology in 2015, the young man from Nam Dinh province continued his studies, pursuing a PhD in computer science at the University of Toulouse (France). At the end of 2019, he returned to Vietnam and began working as a research specialist at the Vingroup Big Data Research Institute.
Currently, Dr. Pham Huy Hieu is a lecturer at the Institute of Computer Science and Engineering, concurrently serving as Deputy Director of the VinUni-Illinois Smart Health Research Center (VinUniversity), and is a research scholar at the University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign (UIUC), USA.
At the age of 31, Dr. Hieu has published 45 articles in prestigious domestic and international scientific journals. These include one patent for a useful solution, 16 articles published in international Q1-listed scientific journals (13 as the main author), and four international and domestic awards and medals.
Dr. Hieu is also the principal investigator and co-principal investigator of 6 scientific research projects. He participated in the research of an AI software system for image analysis to support disease diagnosis and screening, which has been deployed in over 40 hospitals, processing 300,000 patient visits per month.
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